Sex differences in functional cortical organization reflect differences in network topology rather than cortical morphometry

Bianca Serio (), Meike D. Hettwer, Lisa Wiersch, Giacomo Bignardi, Julia Sacher, Susanne Weis, Simon B. Eickhoff and Sofie L. Valk ()
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Bianca Serio: Research Centre Jülich
Meike D. Hettwer: Research Centre Jülich
Lisa Wiersch: Research Centre Jülich
Giacomo Bignardi: Max Planck School of Cognition
Julia Sacher: Max Planck School of Cognition
Susanne Weis: Research Centre Jülich
Simon B. Eickhoff: Research Centre Jülich
Sofie L. Valk: Research Centre Jülich

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Differences in brain size between the sexes are consistently reported. However, the consequences of this anatomical difference on sex differences in intrinsic brain function remain unclear. In the current study, we investigate whether sex differences in intrinsic cortical functional organization may be associated with differences in cortical morphometry, namely different measures of brain size, microstructure, and the geodesic distance of connectivity profiles. For this, we compute a low dimensional representation of functional cortical organization, the sensory-association axis, and identify widespread sex differences. Contrary to our expectations, sex differences in functional organization do not appear to be systematically associated with differences in total surface area, microstructural organization, or geodesic distance, despite these morphometric properties being per se associated with functional organization and differing between sexes. Instead, functional sex differences in the sensory-association axis are associated with differences in functional connectivity profiles and network topology. Collectively, our findings suggest that sex differences in functional cortical organization extend beyond sex differences in cortical morphometry.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51942-1

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