Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 6, 2025

Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways
Published on: December 9, 2013
Sexual dimorphism in the relationship between brain complexity, volume and general intelligence (g): a cross-cohort
Anca-Larisa Sandu1, Gordon D Waiter2, Roger T Staff3
1Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Lilian Sutton Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK. anca.sandu-giuraniuc@abdn.ac.uk.
None:
Changes in brain morphology have been reported during development, ageing and in relation to different pathologies. Brain morphology described by the shape complexity of gyri and sulci can be captured and quantified using fractal dimension (FD). This measure of brain structural complexity, as well as brain volume, are associated with intelligence, but less is known about the sexual dimorphism of these relationships. In this paper, sex differences in the relationship between brain structural complexity and general intelligence (g) in two diverse geographic and cultural populations (UK and Indian) are investigated. 3D T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and a battery of cognitive tests were acquired from participants belonging to three different cohorts: Mysore Parthenon Cohort (MPC); Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF) and UK Biobank. We computed MRI derived structural brain complexity and g estimated from a battery of cognitive tests for each group. Brain complexity and volume were both positively corelated with intelligence, with the correlations being significant in women but not always in men. This relationship is seen across populations of differing ages and geographical locations and improves understanding of neurobiological sex-differences.
Related Concept Videos
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Measures of Intelligence
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this;...
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Anatomy of the Brain: Major Regions
The cerebrum is the largest section of the brain and divides into left and right hemispheres, separated by a deep fissure. The cerebral outer layer of grey matter — the cerebral cortex — comprises elevations called gyri and shallow groves called sulci. The inner portion of white matter includes long nerve fibers known as axons, which connect...
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Wechsler's Contribution to Measures of Intelligence

