Expansive new study points to distinct brain networks linked to sex and gender Jonathan Wosen By Jonathan Wosen July 12, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/12/brain-networks-differ-for-sex-gender-study-published-journal-science-advances/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ejc3Ge3rXFRFuHoWIwwdEK7du2XKEx5qIGeZ0hilJiD6tVGEPZPLJuYQLF-9tyFNJlJklaSVGyzCZM45kdcjf9pXnsQ&_hsmi=315530726&utm_content=315530726&utm_source=hs_email In a new study, researchers were able to predict a participant’s sex or gender — albeit imperfectly — by looking at how different regions in their brain interacted with one another. It’s science, not magic: the team used artificial intelligence to analyze data from MRI scans of thousands of children. Notably, the brain patterns that predicted sex (think biology) were not the same as the patterns that predicted gender (think identity). “Moving forward, we really need to consider both sex and gender separately if we better want to understand the brain,” said Elvisha Dhamala, the study’s lead author. Read more from Jonathan on the study, the questions it leaves unanswered, and what we need going forward to better understand the brain.