Korean J Biol Psychiatry.  2012 May;19(2):77-83.

Sex Differences in Cerebellar Structure of Healthy Adults

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, Daegu, Korea.
  • 2Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Radiology and Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4Department of Psychiatry, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea.
  • 5Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science, Seoul National University College of Humanities, Seoul, Korea.
  • 6Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jeongdu@snu.ac.kr
  • 7Center for Sleep and Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVES
Although there have been studies that examine sex differences of the brain structures using magnetic resonance imaging, studies that specifically investigate cerebellar structural differences between men and women are scarce. The purpose of current study was to examine sex differences in structures of the cerebellum using cerebellar template and cerebellum analysis methods.
METHODS
Sixteen men and twenty women were included in the study. A MATLAB based program (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA), Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 (SPM5) using the spatially unbiased infra-tentorial atlas template (SUIT) as the cerebellum template, was used to analyze the brain imaging data.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in age between men (mean age = 28.1) and women (mean age = 27.2). Men showed higher gray matter density than women in two left cerebellar areas including the clusters in the lobules IV and V (a cluster located across the lobules IV and V), and the lobule VIIIb (lobules IV and V, t = 4.75, p < 0.001 ; lobule VIIIb, t = 3.08, p = 0.004).
CONCLUSIONS
The current study found differences in cerebellar gray matter density between men and women. The current study holds its significance for applying the template specifically developed for the analysis of cerebellum.

Keyword

Cerebellum; Magnetic resonance imaging

MeSH Terms

Adult
Brain
Cerebellum
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neuroimaging
Sex Characteristics
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