Cerebral glucose metabolic rates in normal human females versus normal males

Sex-related differences have been reported for some brain neuroanatomical structures and several measures of brain function. We studied the cerebral glucose metabolic rates of normal men (n = 7) and women (n = 7) with positron emission tomography and the fluorodeoxyglucose method. Women were studied between days 5 and 15 of the menstrual cycle. Women had whole brain glucose metabolic rates that were 19% higher than those of men. All neuroanatomical structures surveyed showed significant female greater than male rates, with no particular regions being outstanding. The higher cerebral glucose metabolic rates we observed in women may have been related to the effects of the high estrogen levels that can obtain in the phase of the menstrual cycle during which we tested our female subjects.