Neural Correlates of Gender Face Perception in Transgender People

Fisher, Alessandra D.; Ristori, Jiska; Castellini, Giovanni; Cocchetti, Carlotta; Cassioli, Emanuele; Orsolini, Stefano; Sensi, Carolina; Romani, Alessia; Mazzoli, Francesca; Cipriani, Agnese; Ricca, Valdo; Vignozzi, Linda; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Mascalchi, Mario; Maggi, Mario; Gavazzi, Gioele

doi:10.3390/jcm9061731

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…In contrast to previous studies [ 10 , 15 , 35 ], we did not find GMV differences in the AG. Notably, a recent fMRI study [ 51 ] observed increased AG activity for TW as compared to CM in a gender face perception task. Moreover, they found that AG activity was significantly correlated with higher levels of body dissatisfaction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replication of Previous Findings? Comparing Gray Matter Volumes in Transgender Individuals with Gender Incongruence and Cisgender Individuals

Clemens

Votinov

Puiu

et al. 2021

JCM

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The brain structural changes related to gender incongruence (GI) are still poorly understood. Previous studies comparing gray matter volumes (GMV) between cisgender and transgender individuals with GI revealed conflicting results. Leveraging a comprehensive sample of transmen (n = 33), transwomen (n = 33), cismen (n = 24), and ciswomen (n = 25), we employ a region-of-interest (ROI) approach to examine the most frequently reported brain regions showing GMV differences between trans- and cisgender individuals. The primary aim is to replicate previous findings and identify anatomical regions which differ between transgender individuals with GI and cisgender individuals. On the basis of a comprehensive literature search, we selected a set of ROIs (thalamus, putamen, cerebellum, angular gyrus, precentral gyrus) for which differences between cis- and transgender groups have been previously observed. The putamen was the only region showing significant GMV differences between cis- and transgender, across previous studies and the present study. We observed increased GMV in the putamen for transwomen compared to both transmen and ciswomen and for all transgender participants compared to all cisgender participants. Such a pattern of neuroanatomical differences corroborates the large majority of previous studies. This potential replication of previous findings and the known involvement of the putamen in cognitive processes related to body representations and the creation of the own body image indicate the relevance of this region for GI and its potential as a structural biomarker for GI.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replication of Previous Findings? Comparing Gray Matter Volumes in Transgender Individuals with Gender Incongruence and Cisgender Individuals

Clemens

Votinov

Puiu

et al. 2021

JCM

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“…Secondly, even though trans people are often exposed to a variety of social stressors, including stigma and discrimination [46,47,49], this did not appear to play a role in the current study. This is interesting, because the rather limited neuroimaging work on affective function in other brain regions in trans people has not yet assessed the involvement of ostracism in the existence of a possible trans brain phenotype [2,12,95,96].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of the 1H-MRS Metabolite Spectra in Transgender Men with Gender Dysphoria and Cisgender People

Collet

Bhaduri

Kiyar

et al. 2021

JCM

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Much research has been conducted on sexual differences of the human brain to determine whether and to what extent a brain gender exists. Consequently, a variety of studies using different neuroimaging techniques attempted to identify the existence of a brain phenotype in people with gender dysphoria (GD). However, to date, brain sexual differences at the metabolite level using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) have not been explored in transgender people. In this study, 28 cisgender men (CM) and 34 cisgender women (CW) and 29 transgender men with GD (TMGD) underwent 1H-MRS at 3 Tesla MRI to characterize common brain metabolites. Specifically, levels of N–acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), glutamate and glutamine (Glx), and myo-inositol + glycine (mI + Gly) were assessed in two brain regions, the amygdala-anterior hippocampus and the lateral parietal cortex. The results indicated a sex-assigned at birth pattern for Cho/Cr in the amygdala of TMGD. In the parietal cortex, a sex-assigned at birth and an intermediate pattern were found. Though assessed post-hoc, exploration of the age of onset of GD in TMGD demonstrated within-group differences in absolute NAA and relative Cho/Cr levels, suggestive for a possible developmental trend. While brain metabolite levels in TMGD resembled those of CW, some interesting findings, such as modulation of metabolite concentrations by age of onset of GD, warrant future inquiry.

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“…Such studies reinforce the approach that mind, cognition and emotion emerge from the reciprocal interactions of the brain-body signals-external world. In TM such body self-identi cation requires of additional involvement of emotional processing 11,44 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain Connectivity Dynamics in Untreated Transmen and Cisgender Individuals

Uribe

Junqué

Gómez‐Gil

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Large-scale brain network interactions have been described between trans- and cis-gender identities. However, a temporal perspective of the brain spontaneous fluctuations is missing. We investigated the functional connectivity dynamics in transmen with gender incongruence and its relationship with interoceptive awareness. We describe four states in native and meta-state spaces: i) one state highly prevalent with sparse overall connections; ii) a second with strong couplings mainly involving components of the salience, default and executive control networks. Two states with global sparse connectivity but positive couplings iii) within the sensorimotor network, and iv) between salience network regions. Transmen had more dynamical fluidity than cismen, while cismen presented less meta-state fluidity and range dynamism than transmen and ciswomen. A positive association between attention regulation and fluidity, and meta-state range dynamism was found in transmen. There exist gender differences in the temporal brain dynamism, characterized by distinct interrelations of the salience network as catalyst interacting with other networks. We provide a functional explanation to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis proposing different brain phenotypes in the construction of the gendered-self.

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Neural Correlates of Gender Face Perception in Transgender People

Cited by 16 publications

References 68 publications

Replication of Previous Findings? Comparing Gray Matter Volumes in Transgender Individuals with Gender Incongruence and Cisgender Individuals

Replication of Previous Findings? Comparing Gray Matter Volumes in Transgender Individuals with Gender Incongruence and Cisgender Individuals

Characterization of the 1H-MRS Metabolite Spectra in Transgender Men with Gender Dysphoria and Cisgender People

Brain Connectivity Dynamics in Untreated Transmen and Cisgender Individuals

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