On sex/gender related similarities and differences in fMRI language research

Kaiser, Anelis; Haller, Sven; Schmitz, Sigrid; Nitsch, Cordula

doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2009.03.005

Cited by 165 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…This concern is emphasized by our and others' findings that different structural and functional differences between brains of females and brains of males are often found in different samples (e.g. [55][56][57][58]). We therefore recommend avoiding the use of sex category as an analytic variable in studies of the structure and function of the human brain (for a similar recommendation, see [3,73,74] Since sex category is one of the most salient grouping dimensions of humans, psychological and social variables, such as socio-economic status, stress, type of education and personality characteristics, often correlate with sex category.…”

Section: The Implications Of the Mosaic Approach For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 90%

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Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

Joel

Fausto‐Sterling

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

107

106

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In the study of variation in brain structure and function that might relate to sex and gender, language matters because it frames our research questions and methods. In this article, we offer an approach to thinking about variation in brain structure and function that pulls us outside the sex differences formulation. We argue that the existence of differences between the brains of males and females does not unravel the relations between sex and the brain nor is it sufficient to characterize a population of brains. Such characterization is necessary for studying sex effects on the brain as well as for studying brain structure and function in general. Animal studies show that sex interacts with environmental, developmental and genetic factors to affect the brain. Studies of humans further suggest that human brains are better described as belonging to a single heterogeneous population rather than two distinct populations. We discuss the implications of these observations for studies of brain and behaviour in humans and in laboratory animals. We believe that studying sex effects in context and developing or adopting analytical methods that take into account the heterogeneity of the brain are crucial for the advancement of human health and well-being.

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Section: The Implications Of the Mosaic Approach For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…using different samples of females and males) report different structural and functional differences between brains of females and brains of males (e.g. [55][56][57][58]). …”

Section: Developing the Mosaic Brain Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

Joel

Fausto‐Sterling

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

107

106

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“…Alongside with previously published work (e.g. [1,[10][11][12]), the articles in the present special issue make three ongoing trends on that frontline salient:…”

Section: Generative Directionsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Neuroscience and Sex/Gender

Dussauge

Kaiser

2012

Neuroethics

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This special issue publishes interdisciplinary scholarship which aims to map and re-imagine the relations between neuroscience and gender studies. neuroGenderings: The NetworkThe authors of the present special issue were all participants in the workshop neuroGenderings: Critical Studies of the Sexed Brain (Uppsala, 2010). Then coorganizers, now guest editors, we work in gender studies, neuroscience, and science and technology studies. In 2010, we did not know for a fact that the neuroGenderings initiative would grow and develop into an international network and conference series. Now we know.In neuroGenderings, a transdisciplinary and international group of researchers from the neurosciences, the humanities and science studies working on and in the neuroscience of gender convened to discuss the broad theme of sex/gender and the brain. As this specific interdisciplinary field of research usually hosts very different epistemological approaches, a common knowledge of neuroscience and gender studies was a prerequisite for the group's theoretical and methodological exchange. The participants lively debated crucial issues, from current research on sex/gender difference in neuropsychology, through the implications of notions of sex/gender, gender identity and sexuality used in neuroscientific experimentation, to the social workings of a sexed/gendered brain.More precisely, the neuroGenderings workshop achieved an impressive first mapping of the research on sex/gender in neurosciences and the methodological frames used in those sciences. We discussed, for instance, the role assigned to "sexed" regions of the brain, by analyzing the relevance of the notion of sexual dimorphism, itself a system of significance that is always and solely framed by neuro-logical sexual dichotomy. Further, we elaborated on what kind of sex/gender facts, results, and understandings of the brain dominate in neurosciences and how neuroscientific facts about sex/ gender are produced. We recapitulated how neuro-sex/ gender-facts are dependent on our contemporary historical and political context and we discussed some of the ethical and political consequences of neuroscientific knowledge production about sex/gender and sexuality. Not least, neuroGenderings explored the workings of neurosexism without dismissing neuroscience altogether. Neurosexism is a term launched by psychologist Cordelia Fine [1], and it stands for the (mis)use of neuroscientific facts and factoids [2] to assert that women and men are categorically Neuroethics (2012) 5:211-215

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“…Embora seja verdade que foram verificadas diferenças anatômicas em certas áreas do cérebro de animais em termos de composição dos neurônios, conteúdo de neurotransmissores, morfologia dos dendritos, número de receptores, entre outros (veja a revisão; Cahill, 2006); ainda não está claro se todas essas diferenças existem em seres humanos, muito menos como se vinculam com comportamento e cognição. Kaiser et al (2009) identificaram as três variáveis estruturais mais recorrentes nos estudos das últimas décadas que buscaram encontrar diferenças cerebrais entre homens e mulheres: a) simetrias / assimetrias na anatomia e função entre os hemisférios direito e esquerdo, b) o tamanho do corpo caloso, e c) a extensão de áreas específicas do cérebro. Embora os resultados das pesquisas que tentam correlacionar a estrutura do cérebro com cognição e comportamento não sejam consistentes (Bishop e Walhsen, 1997;.…”

Section: Uma História De Diferençasunclassified

“…Embora este tipo de hipótese seja submetida a provas frequentemente -os resultados são variados -alguns reportam diferenças e outros tantos a ausência de diferenças (Kaiser et al, 2009). Quando se tem uma abundância de artigos científicos sobre um tema comum, como a questão das diferenças cerebrais e comportamentais entre os sexos, a questão chave é saber escolher quais informações relatar.…”

Section: Orientações Gerais Para Navegar a Informaçãounclassified

A representação binária do cérebro “feminino” e “masculino” na ciência e nos meios de comunicação

Rodríguez-Sierra¹

2016

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Abstract. Research studies that investigate the differences between "female" and "male" brain implicitly try to naturalize these categories that not only have biological components but also social and cultural components. It has been shown that scientific journals and media have a tendency to report more frequently those studies that confirm the binary interpretation of sex/gender as something dimorphic, fixed, and static. Nonetheless, when evidences are considered altogether, several inconsistencies are revealed and no major differences between the sexes/genders remained. Hence, the public debate should question those categories that we assume as natural in order to avoid essentialist and deterministic positions.Keywords. Sex; gender; brain; binary model; media.*Contato: olgars@neuro.ufrn.br IntroduçãoA presença de informações neurocientíficas nos meios de comunicação aumentou enormemente na última década. Uma análise de Connor et al (2012) mostra que de 2000 a 2010 dobrou o número de artigos sobre temas de neurociên-cia na imprensa. Os autores identificaram três eixos temáti-cos principais: o cérebro como um capital para ser otimizado e / ou explorado, o cérebro como um indício de diferença para validar categorias impostas sobre as pessoas, e o cérebro como uma prova biológica para validar algum fenômeno ou crença. No presente artigo, pretende-se particularmente analisar uma situação em que a neurociência é utilizada como "indício de diferença" para validar que existem diferenças essenciais ou naturais entre homens e mulheres. Se é certo que exista um dimorfismo sexual associado à reprodução, é inválido inferir que esse dimorfismo desemboque -de forma nítida -na diferenciação entre um cérebro "masculino" e um "feminino", da qual surjam características dicotômicas em termos de personalidade, cognição, emoção e comportamento. Como veremos adiante, não se pode responsabilizar apenas a mídia por querer validar este "indício de diferença"; a própria ciência, ao formular suas hipóteses, projetar os experimentos e interpretar os resultados, contribui para essa validação. Assim, uma das premissas deste ensaio é que os cientistas não obtêm "verdades objetivas" e livres de vieses quando relatam os resultados de suas pesquisas. Pelo contrá-rio, estas "verdades" se inferem de interpretações que podem ser influenciadas pelo entorno social e cultural -por mais que estejam baseadas em resultados da experimentação. Desta maneira, o fluxo de informações entre cientistas e sociedade não ocorre de forma unidirecional, mas sim bidirecional. Consequentemente, para entender como a mídia transmite os conteúdos científicos à sociedade, também devemos analisar como as crenças e valores da sociedade estão entrelaçadas com o trabalho científico.No nosso caso particular, seria simplista nos apoiarmos apenas na análise retórica do conteúdo nos meios de comunicação, uma vez que não se pretende sugerir que estes sejam a única fonte incitadora deste indício de diferença entre homens e mulheres. Pelo contrário, nas ciências naturais e comport...

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On sex/gender related similarities and differences in fMRI language research

Cited by 165 publications

References 101 publications

Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

Neuroscience and Sex/Gender

A representação binária do cérebro “feminino” e “masculino” na ciência e nos meios de comunicação

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