Sex differences

Recent articles

Illustration of distorted lines of different colors being pulled into a box where they are smoothed in a single multicolored line.

The Transmitter’s favorite essays and columns of 2024

From sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease to enduring citation bias, experts weighed in on important scientific and practical issues in neuroscience.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Illustration of men’s and women’s faces.

Males and females show different patterns of risk for brain-based conditions. Ignoring these differences does us all a disservice.

Although studying sex differences in the brain is complex, technically awkward and socioculturally loaded, it is absolutely essential.

By Armin Raznahan
9 December 2024 | 9 min listen
Human X and Y chromosomes.

Extra Y chromosomes are linked to autism

Data from people with more or fewer than two sex chromosomes could help answer questions around genetic protection and vulnerability.

By Grace Huckins
5 December 2024 | 5 min read
A collage illustration of a woman’s face fragmented by a mosaic of X chromosomes, lines and shapes.

Brains, biases and amyloid beta: Why the female brain deserves a closer look in Alzheimer’s research

New results suggest the disease progresses differently in women, but we need more basic science to unpack the mechanisms involved.

By Rachel Buckley
22 October 2024 | 8 min listen
A younger looking set of hands holds an older looking set of hands.

New catalog charts familial ties from autism to 90 other conditions

The research tool reveals associations stretching across three generations.

By Charles Q. Choi
17 October 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of children looking at a gigantic set of building blocks, some of which display genetic sequences on their surfaces.

Autism is more heritable in boys than in girls

If boys have greater inherited liability for autism, the female protective effect may not fully explain the sex difference in prevalence.

Research image of brain scans showing the structural integrity of white-matter tracts.

Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth

A detailed look at a “pregnant brain” highlights a need to investigate the neural alterations that occur during a transition experienced by nearly 140 million people worldwide each year.

By Shaena Montanari
16 September 2024 | 9 min listen
Illustration of X and Y chromosomes against a psychedelic, checkered pattern.

Accounting for a mosaic of sex differences: Q&A with Nicola Grissom

Breaking the binary view of sex traits can enable researchers to represent the broader complexity of behavior and cognition.

By Olivia Gieger
10 July 2024 | 7 min read

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These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.

By The Transmitter
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