Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

André Zugman; Luz Maria Alliende; Vicente Medel; Richard Bethlehem; Paola Dazzan; Jakob Seidlitz; Grace V. Ringlein; Aurina Arnatkeviciute; Laila Asmal; Mark A. Bellgrove; Vivek Benegal; J. F. Bosch-Bayard; Rodrigo A. Bressan; G.F. Busatto; T M Chaim-Avancini; Leticia Sanguinetti Czepielewski; Camilo de la Fuente-Sandoval; Marta M. Di Forti; Covadonga Martínez Díaz-Caneja; Stefan Du Plessis; Alex Fornito; Nelson B. Freimer; Ary Gadelha; Clarissa S Gama; Clemente Garcia-Rizo; Alfonso Gonzalez-Valderrama; Salvador M. Guinjoan; Bharath Holla; Agustin Ibanez; Andrea P. Jackowski; Pablo León-Ortiz; Christine Lochner; Carlos López-Jaramillo; Hilmar Luckhoff; Raffael Massuda; Philip McGuire; Romina Mizrahi; Robin Murray; Aysegul Ozerdem; Pedro Pan Neto; Mara Parellada; Lebogang Phahladira; Juan P. Ramirez-Mahaluf; Ramiro Reckziegel; Tiago Reis Marques; Francisco Reyes-Madrigal; Annerine Roos; Pedro Rosa; Giovanni Salum; Mauricio H. Serpa; Juan Undurraga; Eduardo A Undurraga; Isabel Valli; Mirta Villarreal; Nefize Yalin; Tobias Winton-Brown; Marcus V. Zanetti; Anderson M. Winkler; Daniel S.  Pine; Sara Evans-Lacko; Nicolas A. Crossley

Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

André Zugman, Luz Maria Alliende, Vicente Medel, Richard Bethlehem, Paola Dazzan, Jakob Seidlitz, Grace V. Ringlein, Aurina Arnatkeviciute, Laila Asmal, Mark A. Bellgrove, Vivek Benegal, J. F. Bosch-Bayard, Rodrigo A. Bressan, G.F. Busatto, T M Chaim-Avancini, Leticia Sanguinetti Czepielewski, Camilo de la Fuente-Sandoval, Marta M. Di Forti, Covadonga Martínez Díaz-Caneja, Stefan Du PlessisAlex Fornito, Nelson B. Freimer, Ary Gadelha, Clarissa S Gama, Clemente Garcia-Rizo, Alfonso Gonzalez-Valderrama, Salvador M. Guinjoan, Bharath Holla, Agustin Ibanez, Andrea P. Jackowski, Pablo León-Ortiz, Christine Lochner, Carlos López-Jaramillo, Hilmar Luckhoff, Raffael Massuda, Philip McGuire, Romina Mizrahi, Robin Murray, Aysegul Ozerdem, Pedro Pan Neto, Mara Parellada, Lebogang Phahladira, Juan P. Ramirez-Mahaluf, Ramiro Reckziegel, Tiago Reis Marques, Francisco Reyes-Madrigal, Annerine Roos, Pedro Rosa, Giovanni Salum, Mauricio H. Serpa, Juan Undurraga, Eduardo A Undurraga, Isabel Valli, Mirta Villarreal, Nefize Yalin, Tobias Winton-Brown, Marcus V. Zanetti, Anderson M. Winkler, Daniel S. Pine, Sara Evans-Lacko, Nicolas A. Crossley

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women’s worse
outcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women’s brains, and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality.

Original language	English
Journal	PNAS
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 16 Mar 2023

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Zugman, A., Alliende, L. M., Medel, V., Bethlehem, R., Dazzan, P., Seidlitz, J., Ringlein, G. V., Arnatkeviciute, A., Asmal, L., Bellgrove, M. A., Benegal, V., Bosch-Bayard, J. F., Bressan, R. A., Busatto, G. F., Chaim-Avancini, T. M., Czepielewski, L. S., de la Fuente-Sandoval, C., Di Forti, M. M., Díaz-Caneja, C. M., ... Crossley, N. A. (Accepted/In press). Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men. PNAS.

@article{231c3f394fd44159af52ab4297db3c35,

title = "Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men",

abstract = "Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women{\textquoteright}s worseoutcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women{\textquoteright}s brains, and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality.",

author = "Andr{\'e} Zugman and Alliende, {Luz Maria} and Vicente Medel and Richard Bethlehem and Paola Dazzan and Jakob Seidlitz and Ringlein, {Grace V.} and Aurina Arnatkeviciute and Laila Asmal and Bellgrove, {Mark A.} and Vivek Benegal and Bosch-Bayard, {J. F.} and Bressan, {Rodrigo A.} and G.F. Busatto and Chaim-Avancini, {T M} and Czepielewski, {Leticia Sanguinetti} and {de la Fuente-Sandoval}, Camilo and {Di Forti}, {Marta M.} and D{\'i}az-Caneja, {Covadonga Mart{\'i}nez} and {Du Plessis}, Stefan and Alex Fornito and Freimer, {Nelson B.} and Ary Gadelha and Gama, {Clarissa S} and Clemente Garcia-Rizo and Alfonso Gonzalez-Valderrama and Guinjoan, {Salvador M.} and Bharath Holla and Agustin Ibanez and Jackowski, {Andrea P.} and Pablo Le{\'o}n-Ortiz and Christine Lochner and Carlos L{\'o}pez-Jaramillo and Hilmar Luckhoff and Raffael Massuda and Philip McGuire and Romina Mizrahi and Robin Murray and Aysegul Ozerdem and {Pan Neto}, Pedro and Mara Parellada and Lebogang Phahladira and Ramirez-Mahaluf, {Juan P.} and Ramiro Reckziegel and {Reis Marques}, Tiago and Francisco Reyes-Madrigal and Annerine Roos and Pedro Rosa and Giovanni Salum and Serpa, {Mauricio H.} and Juan Undurraga and Undurraga, {Eduardo A} and Isabel Valli and Mirta Villarreal and Nefize Yalin and Tobias Winton-Brown and Zanetti, {Marcus V.} and Winkler, {Anderson M.} and Pine, {Daniel S.} and Sara Evans-Lacko and Crossley, {Nicolas A.}",

year = "2023",

month = mar,

day = "16",

language = "English",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Acad Sciences",

}

Zugman, A, Alliende, LM, Medel, V, Bethlehem, R, Dazzan, P, Seidlitz, J, Ringlein, GV, Arnatkeviciute, A, Asmal, L, Bellgrove, MA, Benegal, V, Bosch-Bayard, JF, Bressan, RA, Busatto, GF, Chaim-Avancini, TM, Czepielewski, LS, de la Fuente-Sandoval, C, Di Forti, MM, Díaz-Caneja, CM, Du Plessis, S, Fornito, A, Freimer, NB, Gadelha, A, Gama, CS, Garcia-Rizo, C, Gonzalez-Valderrama, A, Guinjoan, SM, Holla, B, Ibanez, A, Jackowski, AP, León-Ortiz, P, Lochner, C, López-Jaramillo, C, Luckhoff, H, Massuda, R, McGuire, P, Mizrahi, R, Murray, R, Ozerdem, A, Pan Neto, P, Parellada, M, Phahladira, L, Ramirez-Mahaluf, JP, Reckziegel, R, Reis Marques, T, Reyes-Madrigal, F, Roos, A, Rosa, P, Salum, G, Serpa, MH, Undurraga, J, Undurraga, EA, Valli, I, Villarreal, M, Yalin, N , Winton-Brown, T, Zanetti, MV, Winkler, AM, Pine, DS, Evans-Lacko, S & Crossley, NA 2023, 'Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men', PNAS.

TY - JOUR

T1 - Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

AU - Zugman, André

AU - Alliende, Luz Maria

AU - Medel, Vicente

AU - Bethlehem, Richard

AU - Dazzan, Paola

AU - Seidlitz, Jakob

AU - Ringlein, Grace V.

AU - Arnatkeviciute, Aurina

AU - Asmal, Laila

AU - Bellgrove, Mark A.

AU - Benegal, Vivek

AU - Bosch-Bayard, J. F.

AU - Bressan, Rodrigo A.

AU - Busatto, G.F.

AU - Chaim-Avancini, T M

AU - Czepielewski, Leticia Sanguinetti

AU - de la Fuente-Sandoval, Camilo

AU - Di Forti, Marta M.

AU - Díaz-Caneja, Covadonga Martínez

AU - Du Plessis, Stefan

AU - Fornito, Alex

AU - Freimer, Nelson B.

AU - Gadelha, Ary

AU - Gama, Clarissa S

AU - Garcia-Rizo, Clemente

AU - Gonzalez-Valderrama, Alfonso

AU - Guinjoan, Salvador M.

AU - Holla, Bharath

AU - Ibanez, Agustin

AU - Jackowski, Andrea P.

AU - León-Ortiz, Pablo

AU - Lochner, Christine

AU - López-Jaramillo, Carlos

AU - Luckhoff, Hilmar

AU - Massuda, Raffael

AU - McGuire, Philip

AU - Mizrahi, Romina

AU - Murray, Robin

AU - Ozerdem, Aysegul

AU - Pan Neto, Pedro

AU - Parellada, Mara

AU - Phahladira, Lebogang

AU - Ramirez-Mahaluf, Juan P.

AU - Reckziegel, Ramiro

AU - Reis Marques, Tiago

AU - Reyes-Madrigal, Francisco

AU - Roos, Annerine

AU - Rosa, Pedro

AU - Salum, Giovanni

AU - Serpa, Mauricio H.

AU - Undurraga, Juan

AU - Undurraga, Eduardo A

AU - Valli, Isabel

AU - Villarreal, Mirta

AU - Yalin, Nefize

AU - Winton-Brown, Tobias

AU - Zanetti, Marcus V.

AU - Winkler, Anderson M.

AU - Pine, Daniel S.

AU - Evans-Lacko, Sara

AU - Crossley, Nicolas A.

PY - 2023/3/16

Y1 - 2023/3/16

N2 - Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women’s worseoutcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women’s brains, and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality.

AB - Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women’s worseoutcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women’s brains, and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality.

M3 - Article

SN - 0027-8424

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

ER -

Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

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