Sex Matters: A Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Sex- and Gender-Related Neuroanatomical Differences in Cis- and Transgender Individuals Using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Baldinger-Melich, Pia; Castro, Maria F. Urquijo; Seiger, Rene; Ruef, Anne; Dwyer, Dominic B.; Kranz, Georg S.; Kloebl, Manfred; Kambeitz, Joseph; Kaufmann, Ulrike; Windischberger, Christian; Kasper, Siegfried; Falkai, Peter; Lanzenberger, Rupert und Koutsouleris, Nikolaos (2020): Sex Matters: A Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Sex- and Gender-Related Neuroanatomical Differences in Cis- and Transgender Individuals Using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In: Cerebral Cortex, Bd. 30, Nr. 3: S. 1345-1356

Abstract

Univariate analyses of structural neuroimaging data have produced heterogeneous results regarding anatomical sex- and gender-related differences. The current study aimed at delineating and cross-validating brain volumetric surrogates of sex and gender by comparing the structural magnetic resonance imaging data of cis- and transgender subjects using multivariate pattern analysis. Gray matter (GM) tissue maps of 29 transgender men, 23 transgender women, 35 cisgender women, and 34 cisgender men were created using voxel-based morphometry and analyzed using support vector classification. Generalizability of the models was estimated using repeated nested cross-validation. For external validation, significant models were applied to hormone-treated transgender subjects (n= 32) and individuals diagnosed with depression (n= 27). Sex was identified with a balanced accuracy (BAC) of 82.6% (false discovery rate [pFDR] < 0.001) in cisgender, but only with 67.5% (pFDR = 0.04) in transgender participants indicating differences in the neuroanatomical patterns associated with sex in transgender despite the major effect of sex on GM volume irrespective of the self-identification as a woman or man. Gender identity and gender incongruence could not be reliably identified (all pFDR > 0.05). The neuroanatomical signature of sex in cisgender did not interact with depressive features (BAC= 74.7%) but was affected by hormone therapy when applied in transgender women (P< 0.001).

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 1047-3211
• Sprache: Englisch