There is much to learn about the biology underlying sex and gender development, and how sex differences result in higher or lower incidences of disease and responses to treatments. Check these links to learn about WashU investigators who study sex differences, published findings, and additional resources related to sex and gender.
Glossary
- Assigned sex: determination made at a person’s birth based on an infant’s anatomy and/or sex chromosomes.
- Cisgender: when one’s gender identity and assigned sex coincide with societal norms (e.g., man and male).
- Gender identity: a label used to describe one’s identity within a given society’s understanding of gender.
- Nonbinary: a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender categories but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of genders. Related terms include genderqueer, gender fluid, and more.
- Transgender: when gender identity and sex do not coincide with societal norms.
*from Rubin JD, Atwood S, Olson KR, “Studying Gender Diversity” (2020), Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Resources
Nature, Collection of opinion articles on sex and gender in research
- “Sex and gender in science: How to navigate a challenging area of research to the benefit of all” (2024)
National Academies Consensus Study Report
Commentaries on sex and gender in neuroscience research
- “Neuroscience and Sex/Gender: Looking Back and Forward” | The Journal of Neuroscience (Viewpoints), 2020
- “Studying Gender Diversity” | Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2020
- “Reporting and misreporting of sex differences in the biological sciences” | eLife, 2021
From the 2019 Transgender Spectrum Conference
Publications from WashU authors
Psychotic-like experiences and adverse life events in young people. Does gender matter?
Adjorlolo S, Awortwe V, Anum A, Huang K-Y, Mamah D. (2023) Child and Adolescent Mental Health
A comprehensive assay of social motivation reveals sex-specific roles of autism-associated genes and oxytocin
Maloney SE, Sarafinovska S, Weichselbaum C, McCullough KB, Swift RG, Liu Y, Dougherty JD. (2023) Cell Reports Methods
Sex-specific associations between plasma interleukin-6 and depression in persons with and without HIV
Petersen KJ, Yu X, Masters MC, Lobo JD, Lu T, Letendre S, Ellis RJ, McCutchan JA, Sundermann E. (2023) Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health
Associations between age, sex, APOE genotype, and regional vascular physiology in typically aging adults
Damestani NL, Jacoby J, Yadav SM, Lovely AE, Michael A, Terpstra M, Eshghi M, Rashid B, Cruchaga C, Salat DH, Juttukonda MR. (2023) NeuroImage, 275, art. no. 120167
Association of Sex with Neurobehavioral Markers of Executive Function in 2-Year-Olds at High and Low Likelihood of Autism
St. John T, Estes AM, Hazlett HC, Marrus N, Burrows CA, Donovan K, Torres Gomez S, Grzadzinski RL, Parish-Morris J, Smith R, Styner M, Garic D, Pandey J, Lee CM, Schultz RT, Botteron KN, Zwaigenbaum L, Piven J, Dager SR.JAMA Network Open. 2023