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Related Experiment Videos

Sex differences in neural mechanisms underlying implicit symmetry processing.

Silke Lux1, John C Marshall, Susanne Neufang

  • 1Institute of Medicine, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
|November 30, 2006
PubMed
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Women

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Symmetry preference is observed in humans and other species.
  • Symmetry may signal biological fitness, influencing mate choice.
  • Neural mechanisms underlying symmetry perception and sex differences are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate sex differences in neural activity during figure-ground segregation of symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns.
  • To explore whether symmetry is processed automatically or as a result of explicit behavioral choices.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
  • Participants distinguished figure from ground in abstract visual stimuli varying in color, brightness, and symmetry.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants' explicit use of symmetry as a decision criterion was assessed.

    • Main Results:

    • Women exhibited greater bilateral occipital cortex activity when symmetrical shapes were present, regardless of figure choice.
    • Men showed increased activity in right temporal and left parietal cortex only when they explicitly selected a symmetrical element as the figure.
    • These findings suggest sex-specific neural processing of symmetry.

    Conclusions:

    • The female brain appears to automatically process symmetry as a stimulus attribute.
    • The male brain's response to symmetry is dependent on explicit behavioral engagement, even if symmetry is not consciously reported as a criterion.
    • This study reveals distinct neurophysiological responses to symmetry between sexes.