The DOI matches its Crossref record; 137 of the 137 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A systematic literature review of sex differences in childhood language and brain development
Open accessAbstract
The extent of sex differences in childhood language development is unclear. We conducted a systematic literature review synthesizing results from studies examining sex differences in brain structure and function relevant to language development during childhood. We searched PubMed and Scopus databases, and this returned a total of 46 published studies meeting criteria for inclusion that directly examined sex differences in brain development relevant to language function in children. The results indicate that: (a) sex differences in brain structure or function do not necessarily lead to differences in language task performance; (b) evidence for sex differences in brain and language development are limited; (c) when present, sex differences often interact with a variety of factors such as age and task. Overall, the magnitude of sexual dimorphism of brain developmental trajectories associated with language is not as significant as previously thought. Sex differences were found, however, in studies employing tighter age ranges. This suggests that sex differences may be more prominent during certain developmental stages but are negligible in other stages, likely due to different rates of maturation between the sexes. More research is needed to improve our understanding of how sex differences may arise due to the influence of sex hormones and developmental stages, and how these differences may lead to differences in various language task performance. These studies are expected to provide normative information that may be used in studies examining neurodevelopmental disorders that frequently affect more males than females, and also often affect language development.
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“However, the existence of sex/gender differences in language is controversial, with evidence published over the last 10 years indicating that these effects are smaller than previously assumed142.”
From Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions (2023) · cites this paper as [142]
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“Typically, sensory and motor regions mature earlier, with those involving higher order executive functioning maturing later (Gogtay et al., 2004).”
BackgroundBrain development during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study
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Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions
Bölte, S., Neufeld, J., Marschik, P. B., Williams, Z. J., Gallagher, L., & Lai, M.-C. (2023) · Nature Reviews Neurology · doi:10.1038/s41582-023-00774-6 · Cited by 249
Gender differences in early stages of language development. Some evidence and possible explanations
Rinaldi, P., Pasqualetti, P., Volterra, V., & Caselli, M. C. (2023) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.24914 · Cited by 93
Metadata
- Authors
- Etchell, A., Adhikari, A., Weinberg, L. S., Choo, A. L., Garnett, E. O., Chow, H. M., & Chang, S.-E.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (US)
- Corresponding author
- Etchell, Andrew
- Venue
- Neuropsychologia
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-06
- Volume
- 114
- Pages
- 19-31
- ISSN
- 0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5988993
- OpenAlex
- W2797841254
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 137
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 14
- FWCI
- 3.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Keywords
- sex differences, child language acquisition, brain development, sexual dimorphism, brain structure, brain function, neurodevelopmental disorders, sex hormones, brain maturation, developmental stages
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Child, Child Language, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Sex Characteristics
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