New research from the University of Cambridge reveals that sex differences in brain structure are present from birth, with female infants showing more grey matter and male infants showing more white matter.
Research from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge has shown that sex differences in brain structure are present from birth. While male brains tended to be greater in volume than female brains, when adjusted for total brain volume, female infants on average had significantly more grey matter , while male infants on average had significantly more white matter in their brains.
Grey matter is made up of neuron cell bodies and dendrites and is responsible for processing and interpreting information, such as sensation, perception, learning, speech, and cognition. White matter is made up of axons, which are long nerve fibres that connect neurons together from different parts of the brain. Yumnah Khan, a PhD student at the Autism Research Centre, who led the study, said: 'Our study settles an age-old question of whether male and female brains differ at birth. We know there are differences in the brains of older children and adults, but our findings show that they are already present in the earliest days of life. 'Because these sex differences are evident so soon after birth, they might in part reflect biological sex differences during prenatal brain development, which then interact with environmental experiences over time to shape further sex differences in the brain.' One problem that has plagued past research in this area is sample size. The Cambridge team tackled this by analysing data from the Developing Human Connectome Project, where infants receive an MRI brain scan soon after birth. Having over 500 newborn babies in the study means that, statistically, the sample is ideal for detecting sex differences if they are present. A second problem is whether any observed sex differences could be due to other factors, such as differences in body size
Brain Structure Sex Differences Birth Grey Matter White Matter
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