Sex differences in functional brain networks involved in interoception: An fMRI study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Interoception, the perception of internal body states, varies between biological sexes.
• Previous research has not explored the correlation between interoception and brain functional connectivity (FC) differences in males and females.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sex-based differences in brain functional connectivity (FC) related to interoception.
• To explore the relationship between interoceptive awareness scores and FC in males and females.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess brain FC.
• 67 healthy participants (34 females, 33 males) completed the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) for interoceptive awareness.
• Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and whole-brain seed-to-seed FC analysis were performed.

Main Results:

• Females scored significantly higher on the SAQ, indicating greater interoceptive awareness.
• Significant correlations were found between interoception scores and FC in the Salience network and fronto-temporo-parietal regions.
• These correlations were more prevalent in females, suggesting sex-specific neural processing of interoception.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest a female advantage in attentional processing of interoceptive sensations.
• Common inter-network brain areas are implicated in the sense of self, with sex-dependent variations in their functional connectivity related to interoception.