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Sex mechanisms as nonbinary influences on cognitive diversity
Nicola M Grissom1, Nic Glewwe1, Cathy Chen2
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, United States of America.
Hormones and Behavior
|April 21, 2024
Summary
This study proposes a nonbinary framework for understanding sex-related cognitive diversity, moving beyond simplistic male/female comparisons. It emphasizes diverse strategies and variance in sex as key to representing the full spectrum of brains and behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Neuropsychiatric diagnoses exhibit sex and/or gender differences in etiology, diagnosis, and prognosis.
- Research on sex-related variables in behavior and cognition, particularly executive functions and decision-making, often uses a binary sex framework.
- This binary framing can inaccurately portray female behavior as suboptimal compared to male defaults, obscuring neural similarities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an alternative, nonbinary framework for understanding sex-related diversity in cognition.
- To review literature on the multidimensional, nonbinary impacts of sex-related factors on cognition, especially value-based decision-making.
- To offer practical suggestions for nonbinary data interpretation and analysis in behavioral neuroscience.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of multidimensional impacts of sex chromosomes and endocrine mechanisms on cognition.
- Proposal of two analytical strategies for sex-related data in behavioral neuroscience.
- Focus on value-based decision-making tasks to illustrate concepts.
Main Results:
- Sex-related factors contribute to cognitive diversity in multidimensional, nonbinary ways.
- Two recommended analytical approaches: 1) shift from performance metrics to strategy assessments, and 2) analyze variance explained by sex and consider mosaic differences.
- These approaches avoid the fallacy of one sex's performance being inherently worse and the assumption of correlated sex differences.
Conclusions:
- Adopting nonbinary frameworks is crucial for accurately representing the full spectrum of brains and behaviors in cognitive research.
- This shift allows for a more nuanced understanding of cognitive diversity beyond a strict sex binary.
- Neuroscience can better capture individual variation by incorporating nonbinary perspectives on sex-related factors.
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