Sex differences in subcortical auditory processing only partially explain higher prevalence of language disorders in males

Krizman, Jennifer; Bonacina, Silvia; Kraus, Nina

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2020.108075

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…F0 encoding, however, was smaller in athletes than non-athletes, contrary to our predictions. We replicated well-established polarity 52 , 53 and sex differences 1 , 13 , 52 but also found that response consistency is higher in females than males, contrary to previous results 13 . Interestingly, we found that while females had earlier peak latencies than males, consistent with previous findings 1 , 9 , 56 , 57 , athlete status had no effect on FFR peak timing, suggesting that the enhancements are specific to harmonic encoding and response consistency, along with the previous reports of lower noise levels 29 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Given that consistency of the response can be impacted by neural noise 26 , 52 , we predicted that athletes would have greater across-session response consistency than non-athletes, in line with previous findings that athletes have brains with less neural noise 29 . Previous studies have also found that response consistency does not differ between males and females 13 ; we therefore predicted that it would not show a sex difference here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…We compared the male and female athletes and non-athletes on frequency-encoding strength over the fundamental frequency, frequencies corresponding to the first formant (i.e., the lowest band of prominent frequencies contributing to the phonetic content of the sound), and frequencies between the first and second formants that are captured within the FFR. In non-athletes, encoding of these frequencies is known to be greater in females than males 1 , 9 , 13 . We predicted that athletic experience would enhance processing of these frequencies in both males and females (i.e., athlete main effect), but that the enhancement would be greater for female athletes than male athletes (i.e., sex by athlete interaction).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Athleticism and sex impact neural processing of sound

Krizman

Bonacina

Colegrove

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Biology and experience both influence the auditory brain. Sex is one biological factor with pervasive effects on auditory processing. Females process sounds faster and more robustly than males. These differences are linked to hormone differences between the sexes. Athleticism is an experiential factor known to reduce ongoing neural noise, but whether it influences how sounds are processed by the brain is unknown. Furthermore, it is unknown whether sports participation influences auditory processing differently in males and females, given the well-documented sex differences in auditory processing seen in the general population. We hypothesized that athleticism enhances auditory processing and that these enhancements are greater in females. To test these hypotheses, we measured auditory processing in collegiate Division I male and female student-athletes and their non-athlete peers (total n = 1012) using the frequency-following response (FFR). The FFR is a neurophysiological response to sound that reflects the processing of discrete sound features. We measured across-trial consistency of the response in addition to fundamental frequency (F0) and harmonic encoding. We found that athletes had enhanced encoding of the harmonics, which was greatest in the female athletes, and that athletes had more consistent responses than non-athletes. In contrast, F0 encoding was reduced in athletes. The harmonic-encoding advantage in female athletes aligns with previous work linking harmonic encoding strength to female hormone levels and studies showing estrogen as mediating athlete sex differences in other sensory domains. Lastly, persistent deficits in auditory processing from previous concussive and repetitive subconcussive head trauma may underlie the reduced F0 encoding in athletes, as poor F0 encoding is a hallmark of concussion injury.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Athleticism and sex impact neural processing of sound

Krizman

Bonacina

Colegrove

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Data were processed using custom routines in Matlab. First, responses from the individual polarities were added together to accentuate the response to the stimulus envelope 37 , which shows the strongest sex difference in humans 1 , 5 . From these added responses, we extracted six measures: harmonic amplitude, fundamental-frequency (F0) amplitude, neural noise, broadband response magnitude, response replicability, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These differences chiefly manifest in the timing and harmonic encoding of the response to sound, with females having earlier and larger responses than males 1 , 2 . Some timing differences are present at birth and are thought to result from differences in cochlear or auditory tract length 3 , 4 , while others do not emerge until adolescence, suggesting a hormonal source for these differences 1 , 5 . Animal work supports a role of hormones, specifically estrogen, in these sex differences 6 as ovariectomized female rats have later response timing to sound than intact females, but the difference disappears with estrogen administration 7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in auditory processing vary across estrous cycle

Krizman

Rotondo

Nicol

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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In humans, females process a sound’s harmonics more robustly than males. As estrogen regulates auditory plasticity in a sex-specific manner in seasonally breeding animals, estrogen signaling is one hypothesized mechanism for this difference in humans. To investigate whether sex differences in harmonic encoding vary similarly across the reproductive cycle of mammals, we recorded frequency-following responses (FFRs) to a complex sound in male and female rats. Female FFRs were collected during both low and high levels of circulating estrogen during the estrous cycle. Overall, female rodents had larger harmonic encoding than male rodents, and greater harmonic strength was seen during periods of greater estrogen production in the females. These results argue that hormonal differences, specifically estrogen, underlie sex differences in harmonic encoding in rodents and suggest that a similar mechanism may underlie differences seen in humans.

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“The two voices,” or more? Music and gender from myth and conquests to the neurosciences

Majno¹

2023

J of Neuroscience Research

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Music is a unique phenomenon, constantly eliciting interest from a variety of viewpoints, several of which intersect the universal trait of musicality with sex/gender studies and the neurosciences. Its unparalleled power and physical, social, aesthetic, as well as cognitive, emotional and clinical ramifications make it a specially promising terrain for studies and reflections on sex and gender differences and their impact. This overview wishes to enhance awareness of such issues, also fostering an interdisciplinary exchange between the natural sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Over the centuries, different associations of music with the feminine gender have contributed to a pendulum between progressive recognition and stereotypical setbacks requiring to be overcome. Against this backdrop, music‐related neurophysiological and psychological studies on sex and gender specificities are reviewed in their multiple approaches and results, exposing or questioning differences in structural, auditory, hormonal, cognitive, and behavioral areas, also in relation to abilities, treatment, and pedagogy. Thus, the bridging potential of music as universal yet diverse language, art, and practice, recommends its gender‐aware integration into education, protective endeavors, and therapeutic interventions, to promote equality and well‐being.

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Sex differences in subcortical auditory processing only partially explain higher prevalence of language disorders in males

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Athleticism and sex impact neural processing of sound

Athleticism and sex impact neural processing of sound

Sex differences in auditory processing vary across estrous cycle

“The two voices,” or more? Music and gender from myth and conquests to the neurosciences

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