Why and How to Account for Sex and Gender in Brain and Behavioral Research

Long overlooked in neuroscience research, sex and gender are increasingly included as key variables potentially impacting all levels of neurobehavioral analysis. Still, many neuroscientists do not understand the difference between the terms "sex" and "gender," the complexity and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of neuroscience Vol. 43; no. 37; pp. 6344 - 6356
Main Authors Eliot, Lise, Beery, Annaliese K, Jacobs, Emily G, LeBlanc, Hannah F, Maney, Donna L, McCarthy, Margaret M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Society for Neuroscience 13.09.2023
Subjects
Behavioral Research
Brain
Communication
Female
Gender
Humans
Male
Nervous system
Neurosciences
Reproducibility of Results
Research design
Sex
Statistical methods
TechSights
anti-sexism
gender disparity
female inclusion
testosterone
statistical analysis
sexual dimorphism
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Summary:Long overlooked in neuroscience research, sex and gender are increasingly included as key variables potentially impacting all levels of neurobehavioral analysis. Still, many neuroscientists do not understand the difference between the terms "sex" and "gender," the complexity and nuance of each, or how to best include them as variables in research designs. This TechSights article outlines rationales for considering the influence of sex and gender across taxa, and provides technical guidance for strengthening the rigor and reproducibility of such analyses. This guidance includes the use of appropriate statistical methods for comparing groups as well as controls for key covariates of sex (e.g., total intracranial volume) and gender (e.g., income, caregiver stress, bias). We also recommend approaches for interpreting and communicating sex- and gender-related findings about the brain, which have often been misconstrued by neuroscientists and the lay public alike.
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ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0020-23.2023