Tutorial 10 Flashcards
Factors contributing to neurological variances
- urbanicity impact
- handedness
- gender & transgender
- sexual dimorphism & menstrual cycle
Rural
< 10.000 inhabitants
Urban
> 100.000 inhabitants
Adolescents exclusively raised in rural areas show … compared to those raised exclusively in cities
Greater grey matter volume (GMV) in the left hippocampal formation
Spatial processing rural vs urbain-raised
Rural raised adolescents outperform urban raised peers on tasks that involve spatial processing (e.g. block design task in wechsler IQ scale)
What mediates the relationship between upbringing (rural vs. urban) and block design performance? And what does it suggest?
Hippocampal formation
Suggesting a link between environment, brain structure and spatial processing skills
% of right-handed people
90 %
% of left-handed people
10 %
% of ambidextrous people
1 %
Left-Handedness women vs men
Left-handedness is slightly more common in men than women
Left-handedness is more commonly found in …
Individuals with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, including intellectual disabilities, autism, and schizophrenia
Where is hand motor control primarily regulated?
By the contralateral hemisphere
Right-handedness corresponds to …
Left-hemisphere dominance for motor control, and vice versa
Where does the idea of left hemisphere dominance in language date back to? And how has it been confirmed?
Dates back to the research of broca and wernicke
Has been confirmed by Wada, fMRI, PET EcoG, dichotic listening
What is the link between handedness and language lateralization?
There is likely no direct link
% of left-handers with left-hemisphere dominance for language (also what about right-handers)?
50 %
Similar to right-handers
What percentage of left-handers have a left-hemisphere dominance?
Nearly 70 %
30 % of left-handers are roughly split in dominance between
Bilateral and right-hemisphere language dominance
Laterality index in left-handed participants vs right-handed?
Left-handed participants have significantly lower LIs than the right-handers for all four asymmetries tested
What is Sexual dimorphism?
Clear and consistent physical differences between females and males of the same species
In females, hormone levels fluctuate dynamically during menstrual cycle, influencing …
Brain plasticity especially for hippocampus region in human
Which hormone is highest at Ovulation?
Estradiol
Which hormone is highest at Mid-Luteal?
Progesterone
When does estradiol peak?
Ovulation
When does Progesterone peak?
Mid-luteal
What are the implications of hormonal influence on neuroplasticity?
- hormone fluctuations and brain structural plasticity
- future research considering female cycle phases
- roles of ovarian hormones in brain aging and diseases
Practical implications of hormone fluctuations and brain structural plasticity
Design better treatments for cognitive and emotional challenges that arise during different phases of a women‘s life
What should future research consider (women)?
Consider the specific phases of the menstrual cycle in research, as well as other hormonal states like contraceptive use, pregnancy, and menopause
What are the roles of ovarian hormones in brain aging and diseases?
Prevention, treatment and support such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Relationship between Sexual brain differences and sexual differentiation of the genitals
Sexual brain differentiation is temporally differentiated from sexual differentiation of the genitals
When are the genitals differentiated?
First trimester
When is the brain differentiated sexually?
Second trimester
Brain structures in transgender individuals …
Often align more closely with their gender identity than their assigned sex at birth
What does transgender research challenge?
Traditional notions that „male“ and „female“ brains are distinct based on sex assigned at birth
Findings suggest that gender identity has a … component …
Neurobiological component that exists independently of the sex assigned at birth, but rather reflects identity and experience
Research should/does move beyond sex-based categorizations toward …
Gender-sensitive research
