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. 2013 Dec:83:751-60.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.040. Epub 2013 Jul 20.

Sex differences in the development of brain mechanisms for processing biological motion

L C Anderson  1 , D Z Bolling, S Schelinski, M C Coffman, K A Pelphrey, M D Kaiser
Affiliations

Sex differences in the development of brain mechanisms for processing biological motion

L C Anderson et al. Neuroimage. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Disorders related to social functioning including autism and schizophrenia differ drastically in incidence and severity between males and females. Little is known about the neural systems underlying these sex-linked differences in risk and resiliency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task involving the visual perception of point-light displays of coherent and scrambled biological motion, we discovered sex differences in the development of neural systems for basic social perception. In adults, we identified enhanced activity during coherent biological motion perception in females relative to males in a network of brain regions previously implicated in social perception including amygdala, medial temporal gyrus, and temporal pole. These sex differences were less pronounced in our sample of school-age youth. We hypothesize that the robust neural circuitry supporting social perception in females, which diverges from males beginning in childhood, may underlie sex differences in disorders related to social processing.

Keywords: Amygdala; Biological motion; Brain development; Sex differences; fMRI.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Main Effect of Biological > Scrambled Motion: Adults and Children/Adolescents
Red activations indicate regions where adults or children/adolescents exhibited a more robust neural response to biological versus scrambled motion, and blue activations indicate regions where participants showed a more robust neural response to scrambled versus biological motion (adults: p < 0.01, k = 70; children/adolescents: p < 0.01, k = 78). Consistent with past literature, regions showing a significant effect of biological > scrambled motion include bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and bilateral fusiform gyrus (FG).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Adult Sex × Condition Interaction Regions
Activations indicate regions where males and females differed in neural response to biological > scrambled motion (p < 0.01, k = 14). The y-axis represents average contrast beta values for each region, and error bars depict standard error. For all the Sex × Condition interaction regions, females showed an enhanced neural response to biological > scrambled motion compared to males. Abbreviations: Amygdala (AMY), thalamus (THAL), temporal pole (TP), medial temporal gyrus (MTG), cerebellum (CB).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Adult PPI Analysis
The left panel shows the functionally-defined bilateral amygdala regions used as seeds in the PPI analysis. The right panel shows the four regions that exhibited greater task-related functional connectivity with the right amygdala in females compared to males (p < 0.05, k = 10). Abbreviations: Posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), temporal pole (TP).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Sex × Condition Interaction Regions: Children/Adolescents
Activations indicate regions where males and females differed in neural response to biological > scrambled motion (p < 0.01, k = 21). The y-axis represents average contrast beta values for each region, and error bars depict standard error. Abbreviations: Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
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