The sex difference in dichotic listening: multiple negative findings

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Auditory Processing

Background:

• Dichotic listening tasks assess brain lateralization for auditory information.
• Previous research has explored potential sex differences in auditory processing and brain asymmetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sex differences in verbal dichotic listening ear asymmetry.
• To determine if sex is a significant factor influencing auditory processing lateralization.

Main Methods:

• Administered verbal dichotic listening tests to 477 healthy, right-handed adults across five experiments.
• Conducted separate and pooled data analyses to assess ear asymmetry.
• Performed supplemental analyses on subgroups, including those without familial sinistrality.

Main Results:

• No significant sex differences in ear asymmetry were found in any of the five experiments.
• Pooled data analysis also revealed no significant sex difference in ear asymmetry.
• Supplemental analyses indicated a potential sex difference in subjects without familial sinistrality, but its overall impact was minimal.

Conclusions:

• Subject sex is not a significant predictor of ear asymmetry in verbal dichotic listening tasks.
• The contribution of sex to the variance in ear asymmetry is very small.
• Auditory processing lateralization in this task is largely independent of sex in the general population.