As a result of analyzing the brain development patterns of children between the ages of 9 and 11, it was analyzed that girls’ brains were more mature than boys’ brains during this period.
Dado Tomasi, a researcher at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States, published the results of this study in the international journal ‘JAMA Network Open’ on the 21st (local time).
Previously, the academic world believed that there were differences in brain structure and cognitive abilities depending on gender. Differences in cognitive ability also affect the incidence of mild mental and neurological disorders, such as attention deficit.
The research team analyzed brain image data of 8961 children aged 9 to 11 in the United States to confirm the brain development patterns of adolescents according to gender. The average age of the children analyzed was 9.92 years old, and the gender composition was 4604 boys and 4357 girls. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data collected from August 2017 to November 2018 were used in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) program, a large-scale brain development research program in the United States.
The research team analyzed the ratio of gray matter to white matter through brain imaging data of children. Gray matter is the outer layer of the cerebrum and cerebellum. It is a place where nerve cell bodies, dendrites, and glial cells gather, and is responsible for thinking in our body. White matter is the tissue that connects gray matter to gray matter. It is a place where myelinated nerve fibers (myelinated nerve fibers) associated with sensory nerves and motor nerves are gathered.
As a result of the analysis, the brain volume was found to be larger in boys than in girls. The average brain volume of boys was 1260 mL and that of girls was smaller, 1160 mL. The proportion of white matter in the brain was also greater in boys than in girls.
On the other hand, the density of gray matter, which is responsible for cognitive ability, was higher in girls. In the ‘Cohen’s d value’, which confirms a statistically significant difference, the gray matter density level of girls showed a significantly higher value than that of boys.
The research team explained that the difference in the speed of early brain development between boys and girls may be due to the influence of brain gonadal hormones. He added that social and cultural factors may also have played a role. The research team added, “Brain size develops up to 90% of adult brain size at the age of 6, but changes in brain structure, such as gray matter density, continue until adolescence.”
