Individual differences in brain structure underpin empathizing-systemizing cognitive styles in male adults
Journal article
Lai, Meng-Chuan, Lombardo, Michael V., Chakrabarti, Bhismadev, Ecker, Christine, Sadek, Susan A., Wheelwright, Sally J., Murphy, Declan G. M., Suckling, John, Bullmore, Edward T., Bailey, A. J., Bolton, P. F., Carrington, S., Daly, E. M., Deoni, S. C., Happé, F., Henty, J., Jezzard, P., Johnston, P., Jones, D. K., ... Baron-Cohen, Simon. (2012). Individual differences in brain structure underpin empathizing-systemizing cognitive styles in male adults. NeuroImage. 61(4), pp. 1347-1354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.018
Authors | Lai, Meng-Chuan, Lombardo, Michael V., Chakrabarti, Bhismadev, Ecker, Christine, Sadek, Susan A., Wheelwright, Sally J., Murphy, Declan G. M., Suckling, John, Bullmore, Edward T., Bailey, A. J., Bolton, P. F., Carrington, S., Daly, E. M., Deoni, S. C., Happé, F., Henty, J., Jezzard, P., Johnston, P., Jones, D. K., Madden, A., Mullins, D., Murphy, C. M., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Spain, D., Stewart, R., Williams, S. C. and Baron-Cohen, Simon |
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Abstract | Individual differences in cognitive style can be characterized along two dimensions: ‘systemizing’ ( S, the drive to analyze or build ‘rule-based’ systems ) and ‘empathizing’ ( E, the drive to identify another's mental state and respond to this with an appropriate emotion ). Discrepancies between these two dimensions in one direction ( S > E ) or the other ( E > S ) are associated with sex differences in cognition: on average more males show an S > E cognitive style, while on average more females show an E > S profile. The neurobiological basis of these different profiles remains unknown. Since individuals may be typical or atypical for their sex, it is important to move away from the study of sex differences and towards the study of differences in cognitive style. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging we examined how neuroanatomy varies as a function of the discrepancy between E and S in 88 adult males from the general population. Selecting just males allows us to study discrepant E-S profiles in a pure way, unconfounded by other factors related to sex and gender. An increasing S > E profile was associated with increased gray matter volume in cingulate and dorsal medial prefrontal areas which have been implicated in processes related to cognitive control, monitoring, error detection, and probabilistic inference. An increasing E > S profile was associated with larger hypothalamic and ventral basal ganglia regions which have been implicated in neuroendocrine control, motivation and reward. These results suggest an underlying neuroanatomical basis linked to the discrepancy between these two important dimensions of individual differences in cognitive style. |
Keywords | individual differences; cognitive style; empathy; systemizing; VBM |
Year | 2012 |
Journal | NeuroImage |
Journal citation | 61 (4), pp. 1347-1354 |
Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
ISSN | 1053-8119 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.018 |
PubMed ID | 22446488 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-84861413345 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC3381228 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 1347-1354 |
Funder | Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC), National Institute for Health Research |
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service (NHS) | |
Medical Research Council (MRC), United Kingdom | |
Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), National Institute for Health Research | |
King's College London | |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 24 Dec 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 12 Dec 2022 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/87247/individual-differences-in-brain-structure-underpin-empathizing-systemizing-cognitive-styles-in-male-adults
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Publisher's version
OA_Lai_2012_Individual_differences_in_brain_structure_underpin.pdf | |
License: CC BY 3.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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