Abstract

Changes in brain morphology have been reported during development, ageing and in relation to different pathologies. Brain morphology described by the shape complexity of gyri and sulci can be captured and quantified using fractal dimension (FD). This measure of brain structural complexity, as well as brain volume, are associated with intelligence, but less is known about the sexual dimorphism of these relationships. In this paper, sex differences in the relationship between brain structural complexity and general intelligence (g) in two diverse geographic and cultural populations (UK and Indian) are investigated. 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and a battery of cognitive tests were acquired from participants belonging to three different cohorts: Mysore Parthenon Cohort (MPC); Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF) and UK Biobank. We computed MRI derived structural brain complexity and g estimated from a battery of cognitive tests for each group. Brain complexity and volume were both positively corelated with intelligence, with the correlations being significant in women but not always in men. This relationship is seen across populations of differing ages and geographical locations and improves understanding of neurobiological sex-differences.

Details

Title
Sexual dimorphism in the relationship between brain complexity, volume and general intelligence (g): a cross-cohort study
Author
Sandu, Anca-Larisa 1 ; Waiter, Gordon D. 1 ; Staff, Roger T. 2 ; Nazlee, Nafeesa 1 ; Habota, Tina 1 ; McNeil, Chris J. 1 ; Chapko, Dorota 3 ; Williams, Justin H. 4 ; Fall, Caroline H. D. 5 ; Chandak, Giriraj R. 6 ; Pene, Shailesh 7 ; Krishna, Murali 8 ; McIntosh, Andrew M. 9 ; Whalley, Heather C. 9 ; Kumaran, Kalyanaraman 10 ; Krishnaveni, Ghattu V. 11 ; Murray, Alison D. 1 

 University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK (GRID:grid.7107.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7291) 
 NHS Grampian, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK (GRID:grid.411800.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0237 3845) 
 Imperial College London, School of Public Health, London, UK (GRID:grid.7445.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2113 8111) 
 Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Australia (GRID:grid.413154.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0625 9072) 
 University of Southampton, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297) 
 CSIR - Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Genomic Research on Complex Diseases, Hyderabad, India (GRID:grid.417634.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0496 8123) 
 Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Mysore, India (GRID:grid.417634.3) 
 Foundation for Research and Advocacy in Mental Health, Mysore, India (GRID:grid.417634.3) 
 University of Edinburgh, Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, UK (GRID:grid.4305.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7988) 
10  University of Southampton, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297); CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Epidemiology Research Unit, Mysore, India (GRID:grid.414290.a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1759 1476) 
11  CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Epidemiology Research Unit, Mysore, India (GRID:grid.414290.a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1759 1476) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2682581096
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.