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

National Academies Consensus Study Report

Commentaries on sex and gender in neuroscience research

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