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Why and How to Account for Sex and Gender in Brain and Behavioral Research

Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Long overlooked in neuroscience research, sex and gender are increasingly included as key variables potentially impacting all levels of neurobehavioral analysis. Still, many neuroscientists do not understand the difference between the terms "sex" and "gender," the complexity and nuance of each, or how to best include them as variables in research designs. This TechSights article outlines rationales for considering the influence of sex and gender across taxa, and provides technical guidance for strengthening the rigor and reproducibility of such analyses. This guidance includes the use of appropriate statistical methods for comparing groups as well as controls for key covariates of sex (e.g., total intracranial volume) and gender (e.g., income, caregiver stress, bias). We also recommend approaches for interpreting and communicating sex- and gender-related findings about the brain, which have often been misconstrued by neuroscientists and the lay public alike.
DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0020-23.2023
Authors: Lise Eliot, Annaliese K. Beery, Emily G. Jacobs, Hannah F. LeBlanc, Donna L. Maney, Margaret M. McCarthy
Institutions: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Barbara, California Institute of Technology, Emory University, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: CAREER: Social tolerance and the neurobiology of group living, Impact of ovarian hormone suppression on regional and global brain architecture and cognition, G6671297155, Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences, Neuroinflammation, Epigenetics and Male Vulnerability, Endocannabinoids regulate microglia in developing brain
OpenAlex ID: W4386699556
FWCI: 15.1
Cites: 135
Cited by: 59
Related to: 10