Sex differences in corpus callosum size: relationship to age and intracranial size

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 603 - 611
• Main Authors: Sullivan, Edith V., Rosenbloom, Margaret J., Desmond, John E., Pfefferbaum, Adolf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Inc 01.07.2001; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aging; Anatomy; Biological and medical sciences; Brain size; Central nervous system; Corpus callosum; Corpus Callosum - anatomy & histology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - standards; Male; Middle Aged; Normal aging; Reference Values; Sex Characteristics; Sex Distribution; Sexual dimorphism; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; White matter; Sexual dimorphism; Normal aging; Brain size; White matter; Corpus callosum; Human; Senescence; Age
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/S0197-4580(01)00232-9

This quantitative MRI study reports measurement of corpus callosum area taken from midsagittal brain images in 51 healthy men and 41 healthy women, spanning the adult age range (22 to 71 years). Men had larger brains and corpora callosa than women, but callosal size did not correlate with age in either sex. Intracranial (i.c.) volume (ICV) and midsagittal i.c. area (ICA) of brain were used in covariate, regression, and ratio analyses to determine whether sex differences in the corpus callosum endured with statistical adjustment for sex differences in maximally attained brain size. With the exception of one ratio measure, the different statistical adjustments for the contribution of sex differences in brain size to corpus callosum size all indicated that men had larger corpora callosa than women for their brain size. A subsample of men and women selected to be matched on i.c. volume and age confirmed this statistical observation. Sexual dimorphism in the corpus callosum is not a simple artifact of sex differences in brain size and may reflect differences in connectivity necessitated by differences in brain size.