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Sexual dimorphism of the developing human brain
Giedd JN, Castellanos FX, Rajapakse JC, Vaituzis AC, Rapoport JL.. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 1997-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
1. Sexual dimorphism of human brain anatomy has not been well-studied between 4 and 18 years of age, a time of emerging sex differences in behavior and the sexually specific hormonal changes of adrenarche (the predominantly androgenic augmentation of adrenal cortex function occurring at approximately age 8) and puberty. 2. To assess sex differences in brain structures during this developmental period volumes of the cerebrum, lateral ventricles, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus temporal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus, and midsagittal area measurements of the corpus callosum were quantified from brain magnetic resonance images of 121 healthy children and adolescent and examined in relation to age and sex. 3. Males had a 9% larger cerebral volume. When adjusted for cerebral volume by ANCOVA only the basal ganglia demonstrated sex differences in mean volume with the caudate being relatively larger in females and the globus pallidus being relatively larger in males. The lateral ventricles demonstrated a prominent sex difference in brain maturation with robust increases in size in males only. A piecewise-linear model revealed a significant change in the linear regression slope of lateral ventricular volume in males after age 11 that was not shared by females at that or other ages. 4. Amygdala and hippocampal volume increased for both sexes but with the amygdala increasing significantly more in males than females and hippocampal volume increasing more in females. 5. These sexually dimorphic patterns of brain development may be related to the observed sex differences in age of onset, prevalence, and symptomatology seen in nearly all neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood.
Key findings
- When adjusted for cerebral volume by ANCOVA only the basal ganglia demonstrated sex differences in mean volume with the caudate being relatively larger in females and the globus pallidus being relatively larger in males.
- The lateral ventricles demonstrated a prominent sex difference in brain maturation with robust increases in size in males only.
- A piecewise-linear model revealed a significant change in the linear regression slope of lateral ventricular volume in males after age 11 that was not shared by females at that or other ages. 4.
- Amygdala and hippocampal volume increased for both sexes but with the amygdala increasing significantly more in males than females and hippocampal volume increasing more in females. 5.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 24 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 41 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1997 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9460086) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 24 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 24 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 41 out of 100. |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Giedd, J. N., Castellanos, F. X., Rajapakse, J. C., Vaituzis, A. C., & Rapoport, J. L. (1997). Sexual dimorphism of the developing human brain. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0278-5846(97)00158-9
Vancouver
Giedd JN, Castellanos FX, Rajapakse JC, Vaituzis AC, Rapoport JL. Sexual dimorphism of the developing human brain. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. 1997. doi:10.1016/s0278-5846(97)00158-9. PMID: 9460086.
BibTeX
@article{giedd1997-9460086,
author = {Giedd, J. N. and Castellanos, F. X. and Rajapakse, J. C. and Vaituzis, A. C. and Rapoport, J. L.},
title = {{Sexual dimorphism of the developing human brain}},
journal = {Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology \& biological psychiatry},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1016/s0278-5846(97)00158-9},
pmid = {9460086},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0278-5846(97)00158-9}
}
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