Sex continuum in the brain and body during adolescence and psychological traits

Daniel E. Vosberg, Catriona Syme, Nadine Parker, Louis Richer, Zdenka Pausova and Tomáš Paus ()
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Daniel E. Vosberg: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Catriona Syme: Hospital for Sick Children
Nadine Parker: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Louis Richer: Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Zdenka Pausova: Hospital for Sick Children
Tomáš Paus: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, vol. 5, issue 2, 265-272

Abstract: Abstract Many traits of the brain and body show marked sex differences, but the distributions of their values overlap substantially between the two sexes. To investigate variations associated with biological sex, beyond binary differences, we create continuous sex scores capturing the inter-individual variability in phenotypes. In an adolescent cohort (n = 1,029; 533 females), we have generated three sex scores based on brain–body traits: ‘overall’ (48 traits), ‘pubertal’ (26 traits) and ‘non-pubertal’ (22 traits). We then conducted sex-stratified multiple linear regressions (adjusting for age) using sex scores to test associations with sex hormones, personality traits and internalizing–externalizing behaviour. Higher sex scores (that is, greater ‘femaleness’) were associated with lower testosterone in males only, as well as lower extraversion, higher internalizing and lower externalizing in both sexes. The associations with testosterone, internalizing and externalizing were driven by pubertal sex scores, underscoring the importance of adolescence in shaping within-sex individual variability.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-00968-8

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