Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS) and Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
Psychol Med. 2022 Oct;52(14):3086-3096. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720005140. Epub 2021 Mar 26.
Sex-related differences in psychopathology are known phenomena, with externalizing and internalizing symptoms typically more common in boys and girls, respectively. However, the neural correlates of these sex-by-psychopathology interactions are underinvestigated, particularly in adolescence.
Participants were 14 years of age and part of the IMAGEN study, a large ( = 1526) community-based sample. To test for sex-by-psychopathology interactions in structural grey matter volume (GMV), we used whole-brain, voxel-wise neuroimaging analyses based on robust non-parametric methods. Psychopathological symptom data were derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
We found a sex-by-hyperactivity/inattention interaction in four brain clusters: right temporoparietal-opercular region ( < 0.01, Cohen's = -0.24), bilateral anterior and mid-cingulum ( < 0.05, Cohen's = -0.18), right cerebellum and fusiform ( < 0.05, Cohen's = -0.20) and left frontal superior and middle gyri ( < 0.05, Cohen's = -0.26). Higher symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention were associated with lower GMV in all four brain clusters in boys, and with higher GMV in the temporoparietal-opercular and cerebellar-fusiform clusters in girls.
Using a large, sex-balanced and community-based sample, our study lends support to the idea that externalizing symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention may be associated with different neural structures in male and female adolescents. The brain regions we report have been associated with a myriad of important cognitive functions, in particular, attention, cognitive and motor control, and timing, that are potentially relevant to understand the behavioural manifestations of hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. This study highlights the importance of considering sex in our efforts to uncover mechanisms underlying psychopathology during adolescence.
精神病理学中的性别差异是已知现象，外显症状和内隐症状分别在男孩和女孩中更为常见。然而，这些性别-精神病理学相互作用的神经相关性研究还很不足，尤其是在青少年中。
参与者年龄为 14 岁，是 IMAGEN 研究的一部分，这是一个大型（n=1526）基于社区的样本。为了测试结构灰质体积（GMV）中的性别-精神病理学相互作用，我们使用了基于稳健非参数方法的全脑、体素水平神经影像学分析。精神病理学症状数据来自于《长处和困难问卷》（SDQ）。
我们在四个大脑簇中发现了一个性别-多动/注意力不集中的相互作用：右侧颞顶叶-顶下区（p<0.01，Cohen's= -0.24），双侧前扣带回和中扣带回（p<0.05，Cohen's= -0.18），右侧小脑和梭状回（p<0.05，Cohen's= -0.20）和左侧额上和中回（p<0.05，Cohen's= -0.26）。男孩中多动/注意力不集中症状越高，四个大脑簇的 GMV 越低，而女孩中颞顶叶-顶下区和小脑-梭状回簇的 GMV 越高。
使用大型、性别平衡和基于社区的样本，我们的研究支持了这样一种观点，即多动/注意力不集中的外显症状可能与男性和女性青少年的不同神经结构有关。我们报告的大脑区域与许多重要的认知功能有关，特别是注意力、认知和运动控制以及时间安排，这些功能可能与理解多动和注意力不集中症状的行为表现有关。这项研究强调了在我们努力揭示青少年期精神病理学背后的机制时，考虑性别的重要性。
