Sex differences in parietal lobe structure and development.

Structural MRI studies provide evidence for sex differences in the human brain. Differences in surface area and the proportion of gray to white matter volume are observed, particularly in the parietal lobe. To our knowledge, there are no studies examining sex differences of parietal lobe structure in younger populations or in the context of development. The current study evaluated sex difference in the structure of the parietal lobe in children (7-17 years of age). Also, by adding the cohort of previously studied adults (18-50 years of age), sex differences of parietal lobe morphology were examined across the age span of 7-50 years. In the youth sample, we found that, similar to adults, the ratio of parietal lobe cortex to white matter was greater in females. Unlike the adult sample, there were no sex differences in surface area. When examining effects of age, surface area had a significant sex-by-age interaction. Males had essentially no decrease in surfaces area over time, but females had a significant decrease in surface area over time. These findings support the notion of structural sex differences in the parietal lobe, not only in the context of cross sectional assessment, but also in terms of differences of developmental trajectories.