Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan

Lara M. Wierenga; Gaelle E. Doucet; Danai Dima; Ingrid Agartz; Moji Aghajani; Theophilus N. Akudjedu; Anton Albajes-Eizagirre; Dag Alnaes; Kathryn Alpert; Ole A. Andreassen; Alan Anticevic; Philip Asherson; Tobias Banaschewski; Nuria Bargallo; Sarah Baumeister; Ramona Baur-Streubel; Alessandro Bertolino; Aurora Bonvino; Dorret Boomsma; Stefan Borgwardt; Josiane Bourque; Anouk den Braber; Daniel Brandeis; Alan Breier; Henry Brodaty; Rachel M. Brouwer; Jan K. Buitelaar; Geraldo F. Busatto; Vince D. Calhoun; Erick J. Canales-Rodriguez; Dara M. Cannon; Xavier Caseras; Francisco X. Castellanos; Tiffany M. Chaim-Avancini; Christopher R. K. Ching; Vincent P. Clark; Patricia J. Conrod; Annette Conzelmann; Fabrice Crivello; Christopher G. Davey; Erin W. Dickie; Stefan Ehrlich; Dennis Van't Ent; Simon E. Fisher; Jean-Paul Fouche; Barbara Franke; Paola Fuentes-Claramonte; Eco J. C. de Geus; Annabella Di Giorgio; Dennis van der Meer; Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP

doi:10.1002/hbm.25204

Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan

Lara M. Wierenga^*, Gaelle E. Doucet, Danai Dima, Ingrid Agartz, Moji Aghajani, Theophilus N. Akudjedu, Anton Albajes-Eizagirre, Dag Alnaes, Kathryn Alpert, Ole A. Andreassen, Alan Anticevic, Philip Asherson, Tobias Banaschewski, Nuria Bargallo, Sarah Baumeister, Ramona Baur-Streubel, Alessandro Bertolino, Aurora Bonvino, Dorret Boomsma, Stefan BorgwardtJosiane Bourque, Anouk den Braber, Daniel Brandeis, Alan Breier, Henry Brodaty, Rachel M. Brouwer, Jan K. Buitelaar, Geraldo F. Busatto, Vince D. Calhoun, Erick J. Canales-Rodriguez, Dara M. Cannon, Xavier Caseras, Francisco X. Castellanos, Tiffany M. Chaim-Avancini, Christopher R. K. Ching, Vincent P. Clark, Patricia J. Conrod, Annette Conzelmann, Fabrice Crivello, Christopher G. Davey, Erin W. Dickie, Stefan Ehrlich, Dennis Van't Ent, Simon E. Fisher, Jean-Paul Fouche, Barbara Franke, Paola Fuentes-Claramonte, Eco J. C. de Geus, Annabella Di Giorgio, Dennis van der Meer, Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

36 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

For many traits, males show greater variability than females, with possible implications for understanding sex differences in health and disease. Here, the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium presents the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure, based on international data spanning nine decades of life. Subcortical volumes, cortical surface area and cortical thickness were assessed in MRI data of 16,683 healthy individuals 1-90 years old (47% females). We observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures. This pattern was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness. Our findings that these sex differences are present in childhood implicate early life genetic or gene-environment interaction mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences within the sexes, that may underpin sex-specific vulnerability to disorders.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	470-499
Number of pages	30
Journal	Human Brain Mapping
Volume	43
Issue number	1
Early online date	12 Oct 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25204
Publication status	Published - Jan 2022

Keywords

SEX-DIFFERENCES
CEREBRAL-CORTEX
X-CHROMOSOME
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
HUMAN HIPPOCAMPUS
SURFACE-AREA
METAANALYSIS
SEGMENTATION
ADOLESCENCE
MULTISAMPLE

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Wierenga, L. M., Doucet, G. E., Dima, D., Agartz, I., Aghajani, M., Akudjedu, T. N., Albajes-Eizagirre, A., Alnaes, D., Alpert, K., Andreassen, O. A., Anticevic, A., Asherson, P., Banaschewski, T., Bargallo, N., Baumeister, S., Baur-Streubel, R., Bertolino, A., Bonvino, A., Boomsma, D., ... Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP (2022). Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan. Human Brain Mapping, 43(1), 470-499. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25204

@article{d4f2860df6fc496d8de6bf5dd929f72e,

title = "Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan",

abstract = "For many traits, males show greater variability than females, with possible implications for understanding sex differences in health and disease. Here, the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium presents the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure, based on international data spanning nine decades of life. Subcortical volumes, cortical surface area and cortical thickness were assessed in MRI data of 16,683 healthy individuals 1-90 years old (47% females). We observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures. This pattern was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness. Our findings that these sex differences are present in childhood implicate early life genetic or gene-environment interaction mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences within the sexes, that may underpin sex-specific vulnerability to disorders.",

keywords = "SEX-DIFFERENCES, CEREBRAL-CORTEX, X-CHROMOSOME, GENERAL INTELLIGENCE, HUMAN HIPPOCAMPUS, SURFACE-AREA, METAANALYSIS, SEGMENTATION, ADOLESCENCE, MULTISAMPLE",

author = "Wierenga, {Lara M.} and Doucet, {Gaelle E.} and Danai Dima and Ingrid Agartz and Moji Aghajani and Akudjedu, {Theophilus N.} and Anton Albajes-Eizagirre and Dag Alnaes and Kathryn Alpert and Andreassen, {Ole A.} and Alan Anticevic and Philip Asherson and Tobias Banaschewski and Nuria Bargallo and Sarah Baumeister and Ramona Baur-Streubel and Alessandro Bertolino and Aurora Bonvino and Dorret Boomsma and Stefan Borgwardt and Josiane Bourque and {den Braber}, Anouk and Daniel Brandeis and Alan Breier and Henry Brodaty and Brouwer, {Rachel M.} and Buitelaar, {Jan K.} and Busatto, {Geraldo F.} and Calhoun, {Vince D.} and Canales-Rodriguez, {Erick J.} and Cannon, {Dara M.} and Xavier Caseras and Castellanos, {Francisco X.} and Chaim-Avancini, {Tiffany M.} and Ching, {Christopher R. K.} and Clark, {Vincent P.} and Conrod, {Patricia J.} and Annette Conzelmann and Fabrice Crivello and Davey, {Christopher G.} and Dickie, {Erin W.} and Stefan Ehrlich and {Van't Ent}, Dennis and Fisher, {Simon E.} and Jean-Paul Fouche and Barbara Franke and Paola Fuentes-Claramonte and {de Geus}, {Eco J. C.} and {Di Giorgio}, Annabella and {van der Meer}, Dennis and {Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP}",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1002/hbm.25204",

language = "English",

volume = "43",

pages = "470--499",

journal = "Human Brain Mapping",

issn = "1065-9471",

publisher = "Wiley",

number = "1",

}

Wierenga, LM, Doucet, GE, Dima, D, Agartz, I, Aghajani, M, Akudjedu, TN, Albajes-Eizagirre, A, Alnaes, D, Alpert, K, Andreassen, OA, Anticevic, A, Asherson, P, Banaschewski, T, Bargallo, N, Baumeister, S, Baur-Streubel, R, Bertolino, A, Bonvino, A, Boomsma, D, Borgwardt, S, Bourque, J, den Braber, A, Brandeis, D, Breier, A, Brodaty, H, Brouwer, RM, Buitelaar, JK, Busatto, GF, Calhoun, VD, Canales-Rodriguez, EJ, Cannon, DM, Caseras, X, Castellanos, FX, Chaim-Avancini, TM, Ching, CRK, Clark, VP, Conrod, PJ, Conzelmann, A, Crivello, F, Davey, CG, Dickie, EW, Ehrlich, S, Van't Ent, D, Fisher, SE, Fouche, J-P, Franke, B, Fuentes-Claramonte, P, de Geus, EJC, Di Giorgio, A, van der Meer, D & Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP 2022, 'Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan', Human Brain Mapping, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 470-499. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25204

TY - JOUR

T1 - Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan

AU - Wierenga, Lara M.

AU - Doucet, Gaelle E.

AU - Dima, Danai

AU - Agartz, Ingrid

AU - Aghajani, Moji

AU - Akudjedu, Theophilus N.

AU - Albajes-Eizagirre, Anton

AU - Alnaes, Dag

AU - Alpert, Kathryn

AU - Andreassen, Ole A.

AU - Anticevic, Alan

AU - Asherson, Philip

AU - Banaschewski, Tobias

AU - Bargallo, Nuria

AU - Baumeister, Sarah

AU - Baur-Streubel, Ramona

AU - Bertolino, Alessandro

AU - Bonvino, Aurora

AU - Boomsma, Dorret

AU - Borgwardt, Stefan

AU - Bourque, Josiane

AU - den Braber, Anouk

AU - Brandeis, Daniel

AU - Breier, Alan

AU - Brodaty, Henry

AU - Brouwer, Rachel M.

AU - Buitelaar, Jan K.

AU - Busatto, Geraldo F.

AU - Calhoun, Vince D.

AU - Canales-Rodriguez, Erick J.

AU - Cannon, Dara M.

AU - Caseras, Xavier

AU - Castellanos, Francisco X.

AU - Chaim-Avancini, Tiffany M.

AU - Ching, Christopher R. K.

AU - Clark, Vincent P.

AU - Conrod, Patricia J.

AU - Conzelmann, Annette

AU - Crivello, Fabrice

AU - Davey, Christopher G.

AU - Dickie, Erin W.

AU - Ehrlich, Stefan

AU - Van't Ent, Dennis

AU - Fisher, Simon E.

AU - Fouche, Jean-Paul

AU - Franke, Barbara

AU - Fuentes-Claramonte, Paola

AU - de Geus, Eco J. C.

AU - Di Giorgio, Annabella

AU - van der Meer, Dennis

AU - Karolinska Schizophrenia Project KaSP

PY - 2022/1

Y1 - 2022/1

N2 - For many traits, males show greater variability than females, with possible implications for understanding sex differences in health and disease. Here, the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium presents the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure, based on international data spanning nine decades of life. Subcortical volumes, cortical surface area and cortical thickness were assessed in MRI data of 16,683 healthy individuals 1-90 years old (47% females). We observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures. This pattern was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness. Our findings that these sex differences are present in childhood implicate early life genetic or gene-environment interaction mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences within the sexes, that may underpin sex-specific vulnerability to disorders.

AB - For many traits, males show greater variability than females, with possible implications for understanding sex differences in health and disease. Here, the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium presents the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure, based on international data spanning nine decades of life. Subcortical volumes, cortical surface area and cortical thickness were assessed in MRI data of 16,683 healthy individuals 1-90 years old (47% females). We observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures. This pattern was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness. Our findings that these sex differences are present in childhood implicate early life genetic or gene-environment interaction mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences within the sexes, that may underpin sex-specific vulnerability to disorders.

KW - SEX-DIFFERENCES

KW - CEREBRAL-CORTEX

KW - X-CHROMOSOME

KW - GENERAL INTELLIGENCE

KW - HUMAN HIPPOCAMPUS

KW - SURFACE-AREA

KW - METAANALYSIS

KW - SEGMENTATION

KW - ADOLESCENCE

KW - MULTISAMPLE

U2 - 10.1002/hbm.25204

DO - 10.1002/hbm.25204

M3 - Article

C2 - 33044802

SN - 1065-9471

VL - 43

SP - 470

EP - 499

JO - Human Brain Mapping

JF - Human Brain Mapping

IS - 1

ER -