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Brain Scanning Shows That Gender and Sex Are Different

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  • Even though as a society, we debate how to treat a person’s sex and gender, research suggests the two use distinct communication networks in the brain. Sex divides us into male and female groups based on our biology such as sex organs and genetics. Gender though is based on culture and society.   

    A new brain study adds to current evidence that sex and gender are distinct. The study used functional MRI brain scans of nearly 5,000 9-and 10-year-olds with half assigned as female at birth and the other male at birth.  

    Children and parents were both asked questions about gender preferences and the children’s behavior. Then the children had fMRI scans while being asked test questions designed to stimulate brain activity related to memory and emotional response processing.  The goal was to discover what brain circuits, regions, and networks were activated and whether the information could determine sex and gender.  

    Machine learning analyzed the results and while it could accurately predict the sex assigned at birth, it had a harder time determining gender. The networks that were connected to sex were sensory processing and motor control. But the networks linked to gender were distributed across the brain and to cognitive abilities involving emotional processing, social cognition and attention.   

    Even though more work is needed, again we’re seeing that gender and sex identity are processed by the brain in different ways.  

More Information

Brain imaging study in children shows sex and gender operate in different networks of the brain
Experts say the study reinforces the need to consider sex and gender separately in biomedical research

Functional brain networks are associated with both sex and gender in children
Sex and gender are associated with human behavior throughout the life span and across health and disease, but whether they are associated with similar or distinct neural phenotypes is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that, in children, sex and gender are uniquely reflected in the intrinsic functional connectivity of the brain.

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