Revealed: how male and female brain cells differ in gene activity

""Having these gene-expression signatures provides a molecular handle to understanding the biology of how the brains of men and women might be functioning slightly differently in the context of the different hormonal environments that their bodies produce," says Jessica Tollkuhn."

""What underlies that has been a central question," says Tollkuhn. Sex differences in the brain tend to be "extremely subtle". "Most of the brain doesn't show sex differences in its day-to-day function.""

Analysis of over a million brain cells revealed more than 100 genes with consistent expression differences between male and female brains. These subtle variations could explain why certain neurological conditions, like schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, have different prevalence rates between sexes. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding these molecular differences to improve treatment strategies for brain-related diseases, potentially benefiting both males and females. The study was published in Science on April 16.

Read at Nature