Do mouse sex differences in brain volume match humans?
Human males have larger/more variable total brain volume (mice do not); after TTV control, sex-effect sizes across 60 homologous regions correlate modestly (r=0.30), higher in cortex, tracking congruence of 2835 homologous genes.
Source
Comparative neuroimaging of sex differences in human and mouse brain anatomy
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — Comparative structural MRI of sex differences in human and mouse brains plus regional gene-expression congruence
- N
- N=1522 · Humans 597F/496M; mice 213F/216M (TTV analysis)
- Population
- Healthy young adult humans and mice with homologous regional atlases
- Outcome
- Cross-species congruence of volumetric sex effects and linked gene-expression profiles
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
Used structural MRI to compare sex differences in total and regional volumes between humans and mice, then related regional volumetric sex-effect congruence to cross-species gene-expression profiles.
What they found
Humans: males ~13.5% larger TTV; mice: no significant TTV sex difference. After TTV correction, ~65.8% of human and ~58.6% of mouse regions showed sex differences. Cross-species volumetric sex-effect congruence r=0.30 overall (cortex r=0.33; non-cortex r=0.16), aligning with expression congruence of 2835 homologous genes especially in primary sensory cortex.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Congruence is correlational and atlas-dependent; it does not prove shared developmental mechanisms for every homologous region.
Key terms
- Total tissue volume (TTV)
- Whole-brain volume measure compared between sexes/species.
- Homologous regions
- Corresponding brain areas mapped across human and mouse atlases.
- Effect-size congruence
- Correlation of regional sex-effect magnitudes across species.
- Structural MRI
- Imaging modality used to measure regional volumes.
- Gene-expression profile
- Regional expression of homologous genes linked to volumetric congruence.
Flashcards
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Quiz yourself
Human male TTV vs female:
Common questions
Human TTV sex difference?
~13.5% larger in males.
Mice TTV sex difference?
Not statistically significant (~0.3%).
Overall regional congruence r?
0.30 across 60 homologous regions.
Genes in expression analysis?
2835 homologous genes.