Although considerable progress has been made in our understanding of brain function, many questions remain unanswered. The ultimate goal of studying the brain is to understand the connection between brain structure and function and behavioural outcomes. Since sex differences in brain morphology were first observed, subsequent studies suggest different functional organization of the male and female brains in humans. Sex and gender have been identified as being a significant factor in understanding human physiology, health and disease, and the biological differences between the sexes is not limited to the gonads and secondary sexual characteristics, but also affects the structure and, more crucially, the function of the brain and other organs. Significant variability in brain structures between individuals, in addition to between the sexes, is factor that complicates the study of sex differences in the brain. In this review, we explore the current understanding of sex differences in the brain, mostly focusing on preclinical animal studies.
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September 2016
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Corin protein expression in human renal proximal convoluted tubules as shown by brown staining in immunohistochemistry. See pp. 1655-1664 for further details. Image kindly provided by Qingyu Wu.
Review Article|
July 18 2016
Sex differences in the brain–an interplay of sex steroid hormones and sex chromosomes
Neza Grgurevic;
Neza Grgurevic
*Institute for Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Gregor Majdic
*Institute for Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
†Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Correspondence: Gregor Majdic (email gregor.majdic@vf.uni-lj.si).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
April 26 2016
Revision Received:
May 16 2016
Accepted:
May 17 2016
Online ISSN: 1470-8736
Print ISSN: 0143-5221
© 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society
2016
Clin Sci (Lond) (2016) 130 (17): 1481–1497.
Article history
Received:
April 26 2016
Revision Received:
May 16 2016
Accepted:
May 17 2016
Citation
Neza Grgurevic, Gregor Majdic; Sex differences in the brain–an interplay of sex steroid hormones and sex chromosomes. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 September 2016; 130 (17): 1481–1497. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20160299
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