Sex chromosomes and brain gender
Abstract
In birds and mammals, differences in development between the sexes arise from the differential actions of genes that are encoded on the sex chromosomes. These genes are differentially represented in the cells of males and females, and have been selected for sex-specific roles. The brain is a sexually dimorphic organ and is also shaped by sex-specific selection pressures. Genes on the sex chromosomes probably determine the gender (sexually dimorphic phenotype) of the brain in two ways: by acting on the gonads to induce sex differences in levels of gonadal secretions that have sex-specific effects on the brain, and by acting in the brain itself to differentiate XX and XY brain cells.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
X and Y gene dose discrepancies account for several sex-biased phenotypes in the brain and periphery.
“Questions regarding the effects of X and Y gene imbalance have been explored over the past decade, and the data suggests that X and Y gene dose discrepancies account for several sex-biased phenotypes in the brain and periphery (Arnold, 2004; Arnold et al., 2016; Burgoyne et al., 1995).”
From Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes: sex differences in regulation of stress responsivity (2017) · cites this paper as Arnold, 2004
Cites
Sex chromosome genes directly affect brain sexual differentiation
Carruth, L. L., Reisert, I., & Arnold, A. P. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn922 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Self-citationThe genetic basis of XX-XY differences present before gonadal sex differentiation in the mouse
Burgoyne, P. S., Thornhill, A. R., Boudrean, S. K., Darling, S. M., Bishop, C. E., & Evans, E. P. (1995) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.1995.0159 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Functional testicular tissue does not masculinize development of the zebra finch song system.
Wade, J., & Arnold, A. P. (1996) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.93.11.5264 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Why sex matters for neuroscience
Cahill, L. (2006) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1909 · Cited by 1,540 · see citing works
Oyola, M. G., & Handa, R. J. (2017) · Stress · doi:10.1080/10253890.2017.1369523 · Cited by 710 · see citing works
“Questions regarding the effects of X and Y gene imbalance have been explored over the past decade, and the data suggests that X and Y gene dose discrepancies account for several sex-biased phenotypes in the brain and periphery (Arnold, 2004; Arnold et al., 2016; Burgoyne et al., 1995).”
BackgroundArnold, A. P., & Chen, X. (2009) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2008.11.001 · Cited by 587 · see citing works
Self-citationLi, F., Cui, Y., Li, Y., Guo, L., Ke, X., Liu, J., Luo, X., Zheng, Y., & Leckman, J. F. (2022) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13445 · Cited by 498 · see citing works
De Vries, G. J., & Panzica, G. C. (2006) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.07.050 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Baker, S. W., & New, M. I. (2008) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9265-1 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Sleep, rhythms, and the endocrine brain: influence of sex and gonadal hormones
Mong, J. A., Baker, F. C., Mahoney, M. M., Paul, K. N., Schwartz, M. D., Semba, K., & Silver, R. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4175-11.2011 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Bramen, J. E., Hranilovich, J. A., Dahl, R. E., Forbes, E. E., Chen, J., Toga, A. W., Dinov, I. D., Worthman, C. M., & Sowell, E. R. (2011) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq137 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review
Zaidi, Z. F. (2010) · The Open Anatomy Journal · doi:10.2174/1877609401002010037 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Females do not express learned helplessness like males do
Dalla, C., Edgecomb, C., Whetstone, A. S., & Shors, T. J. (2008) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301533 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Burgoyne, P. S., & Arnold, A. P. (2016) · Biology of Sex Differences · doi:10.1186/s13293-016-0115-5 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Self-citationTestosterone control of male courtship in birds
Fusani, L. (2008) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.04.004 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
The importance of having two X chromosomes
Arnold, A. P., Reue, K., Eghbali, M., Vilain, E., Chen, X., Ghahramani, N., Itoh, Y., Li, J., Link, J. C., Ngun, T., et al. (2016) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0113 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Self-citationItoh, Y., Mackie, R., Kampf, K., Domadia, S., Brown, J. D., O’Neill, R., & Arnold, A. P. (2015) · BMC Research Notes · doi:10.1186/s13104-015-0986-2 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Self-citationNeurobiological and Hormonal Mechanisms Regulating Women’s Sleep
Dorsey, A., de Lecea, L., & Jennings, K. J. (2021) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2020.625397 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
LI, W., PENDERIS, J., ZHAO, C., SCHUMACHER, M., & FRANKLIN, R. (2006) · Experimental Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2006.05.012 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Sex differences in brain expression of X- and Y-linked genes
Xu, J., & Disteche, C. M. (2006) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2006.08.049 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Chemical communication of fear: A case of male-female asymmetry
de Groot, J. H. B., Semin, G. R., & Smeets, M. A. M. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0035950 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
The Prenatal Hormone Milieu in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Worsham, W., Dalton, S., & Bilder, D. A. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.655438 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Putative contributions of the sex chromosome proteins SOX3 and SRY to neurodevelopmental disorders
Tahira, A. C., Barbosa, A. R., Feltrin, A. S., Gastaldi, V. D., de Toledo, V. H. C., de Carvalho Pereira, J. G., Lisboa, B. C. G., de Souza Reis, V. N., dos Santos, A. C. F., Maschietto, M., et al. (2019) · American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32704 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Arnold, A. P.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Arnold, Arthur P.
- ORCID
- Arnold, Arthur P.
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Neuroscience
- Published
- 2004-09
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 701-708
- ISSN
- 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0048
- OpenAlex
- W2006420315
- Cited by
- 368
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Keywords
- sex chromosomes, brain sexual dimorphism, sex differences, sex-specific gene expression, gonadal hormones, brain development, sex determination, birds, mammals
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Characteristics, Sex Chromosomes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
