Are sex differences in brain structure altered in autism? A machine learning study using multi-site structural MRI
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Males are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) more frequently than females, but the neuroanatomical basis of this sex disparity remains unclear.Objective This study examined whether sex-related patterns of brain morphology differ between individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) controls.Methods Multi-site structural MRI data were analyzed using a two-stage machine-learning framework. First, regional classifiers distinguished ASD from TD controls separately in males and females to compare diagnosis-related morphometric separability. Second, classifiers distinguished males from females within ASD and TD groups to compare sex-related morphometric separability. Voxel-wise analyses were used to localize gray matter differences.Results ASD-versus-TD classification was more accurate in males than in females, suggesting more consistent diagnosis-related structural differences in male participants. In contrast, male-versus-female classification was less accurate in ASD than in TD, consistent with altered structural sex differentiation in autism. Voxel-wise effects were strongest in the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, putamen, pallidum, and thalamus.Conclusion Sex-related morphometric patterns in ASD differ from those observed in typical development.
Institutions: Chengdu University, Chengdu Jincheng College
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7171037066