Differences in Resting Brain Activity for girls and boys

23.10.2024

Does the brain activity of boys and girls at rest change based on their biological gender and age? Is it possible to predict any behavioural, emotional, or executive functioning problems through this activity?
Answers to these questions are found in the research titled Dynamic Transient Brain States in preschoolers mirror parental report of behaviour and emotion regulation, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping. The work, led by Lisa Toffoli and Giovanni Mento of the Department of General Psychology at the University of Padua, is a collaboration with Gian Marco Duma of the IRCCS “E. Medea” of Conegliano and Duncan Astle of the University of Cambridge.

The research shows the relationship between neural functioning in resting conditions (called resting state, a state in which the brain is not engaged in active cognitive activities or specific tasks) and daily cognitive functioning in preschool-aged boys and girls (4-6 years). The research team highlighted that the stability, duration, and direction of brain communications - how information is transmitted and processed within a single area or between different regions of the brain - in the absence of cognitive demands do not change within the age group considered but differ based on biological sex.

Cognitive demands refer to the challenges that our brain face when processing information, solving problems, making decisions, and performing activities that require attention and concentration. These demands can vary in intensity and complexity and are fundamental in developing cognitive abilities, especially in children.
The study shows that males show more variable and less predictable brain activity, as well as greater activation of the default-mode network, the circuit associated with mind wandering. On the contrary, females more often activate the prefrontal areas, which are more associated with the ability to concentrate and cognitive activation.
The research also observed, based on questionnaires filled out by parents, that children who activate the prefrontal areas more show better behavioural and emotional regulation. In contrast, those who activate the default-mode network more often report greater difficulties.

“The study’s two main objectives were to understand if and how the resting brain activity differs in children based on biological sex and age, and to examine whether this activity was able to predict any behavioural, emotional, or executive function problems that help us plan and carry out actions," says Lisa Toffoli, first author of the study and researcher at the University of Padua.
“For the first time in this age group, an innovative machine learning technique called Hidden Markov Models (HMM), offering high spatial resolution electroencephalography data, allowed us to identify which areas of the brain communicate with each other and how these communications change very quickly, in the order of milliseconds" explains Gian Marco Duma, who supervised the collaboration with the IRCCS E. Medea.

“These results could have significant implications for clinical populations, particularly for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD, identifying potential neural targets in rehabilitation processes. This could facilitate personalized therapeutic approaches, especially in preschool age, a crucial phase for cognitive development" concludes Giovanni Mento, corresponding author of the study and professor at the Department of General Psychology at the University of Padua.