Sex-specific versus sex-independent pathophysiology of executive function disorders

Determine whether the pathophysiology underlying disorders of executive function is sex-specific or sex-independent, in order to clarify how sex influences disease mechanisms associated with executive dysfunction.

Background

Sex differences are observed in executive function during development and in the prevalence of related disorders such as ADHD, impulsivity-related conditions, criminality, and substance use. These differences raise fundamental questions about how sex influences the neurobiological mechanisms of these disorders.

The study links sex differences in network controllability of structural brain networks to executive function and task-related activation. Despite these findings, the question of whether the disease mechanisms (pathophysiology) in disorders of executive function are inherently sex-specific or largely sex-independent remains unresolved.

References

While it is known that sex differences exist in the prevalence of disorders of executive function and the putative neural circuitry involved, it is unclear whether the pathophysiology of such disorders is sex-specific or sex-independent.

— Sex differences in network controllability as a predictor of executive function in youth  (1801.04623 - Cornblath et al., 2018) in Discussion, Implications for cognitive and clinical neuroscience