In a recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers have found some significant differences in the development of autistic boys and girls aged between 2 and 13. This study was conducted by researchers from UC Davis. They also tried to study the outer layer of the brain known as the cortex and revealed that the thickness of the cortex changes specifically for each sex. Â
In this study, researchers involved two groups of children such as the autistic group and the non-autistic group. The autistic group was consisted of 290 children (202 boys and 88 girls) with autism. On the other hand, the non-autistic group was consisted of 139 children (79 boys and 60 girls) without autism. These children were aged between 2 and 13. They were part of the MIND Institute’s Autism Phenome Project (APP). It was the largest study conducted to understand more about autism. Researchers tracked these children and took MRI scans four times. Â
When researchers observed the collected data and MRI scan reports, they noticed that autistic girls at the age of 3 had a thicker cortex as compared to non-autistic girls. This thicker cortex was made up about 9% of the total cortical surface. On the other hand, they did not find any significant differences in the thickness of the cortex between autistic boys and non-autistic boys. They also found that autistic girls had faster rates of cortical thinning as they got older. Â
This study is very important as very few studies were conducted to understand the development of the brain in autistic girls. Boys get diagnosed with autism almost four times more often than girls. One of the researchers says that this difference in diagnosis might be due to the underdiagnosing of autism in females. But this study clearly shows that biological differences in brain development also play an important role. Â
The results of this study clearly show main differences in the development of the brain between autistic boys and girls. But there is a need for further research to understand more about it. So, researchers can make effective treatments and strategies for autism. Â
Reference Link:Â Â
Derek S. Andrews et al, Sex differences in trajectories of cortical development in autistic children from 2–13 years of age, Molecular Psychiatry (2024). Â
