Sex Differences in the Human Brain, their Underpinnings and Implications

This volume of Progress in Brain Research documents recent developments and research findings in relation to sex and how the brain’s function and behavior differs from men to women. Specific areas include cerebral function, morphology and organization, sexual dimorphism, neural origins,and genetics and epigenetics, as well as potential causes/affects of stress, pain, sexual orientation and identity and other social issues such as distribution of disorders across the sexes and autism.

Part I General overview 1. Anatomical Sex Differences in adult brain (E Luders and A Toga) 2. Anatomical Sex differences in the adolescent brain (T Paus) 3. Sex Influences in brain function with focus on Emotional Memory: The Burden of Proof has shifted. (L Cahill) 4. Cerebral organization and function in relation to sexual orientation and Identity (I Savic, A Garcia-Falgueras and D Swaab)

Part II The mechanisms behind sex dimorhism in the brain 5. Genetics of brain sex differences (F Sanchesz and E Villain) 6. The genetic and epigenetic interplay and of sex differences in the brain (I Qureshi and M Mehler) 7. Gene expression in neuroendocrine cells during the critical period for sexual differentiation of the brain (K Gagnidze, D Pfaff and J Mong) 8. Neurosteroids – their impact on the human brain, and potential pharmacologic effects (S Reddy)

Part III Clinical implications 9. Sex, gender and pain (J Mogil and A Bailey)  10. The skewed sex distribution in affective disorders – a diagnostic, social or biological problem? (M Legato) 11. Empathizing, Systemizing, and the Extreme Male Brain theory of Autism (S Baron-Cohen) 12. Gender and the injured brain (P Hurn)