■探索认知能力的性别差异可以为人类大脑功能提供重要的见解。
■我们的研究利用了磁共振测温等先进技术,标准工作记忆n-back任务,和功能磁共振成像,以研究大脑温度的性别变化是否与不同的神经元反应和工作记忆能力相关。
■我们观察到男性在工作记忆任务期间平均大脑温度显著下降,女性身上没有的现象。尽管女性大脑温度的变化明显低于男性,我们发现绝对温度变化(ATC)与认知表现之间存在反比关系,与神经活动引起的血氧水平依赖性(BOLD)信号变化有关。这表明在女性中,ATC是认知表现和BOLD反应之间联系的关键决定因素,在男性中没有明显的联系。然而,我们还观察到其他女性特异性BOLD反应与男性的任务表现相当。
■我们的结果表明,女性通过激活额外的神经元网络来支持工作记忆,从而补偿大脑对温度的敏感性。这项研究不仅强调了认知过程中性别差异的复杂性,而且为理解温度波动如何影响大脑功能开辟了新途径。
UNASSIGNED: Exploring gender differences in cognitive abilities offers vital insights into human brain functioning.
UNASSIGNED: Our study utilized advanced techniques like magnetic resonance thermometry, standard working memory n-back tasks, and functional MRI to investigate if gender-based variations in brain temperature correlate with distinct neuronal responses and working memory capabilities.
UNASSIGNED: We observed a significant decrease in average brain temperature in males during working memory tasks, a phenomenon not seen in females. Although changes in female brain temperature were significantly lower than in males, we found an inverse relationship between the absolute temperature change (ATC) and cognitive performance, alongside a correlation with blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal change induced by neural activity. This suggests that in females, ATC is a crucial determinant for the link between cognitive performance and BOLD responses, a linkage not evident in males. However, we also observed additional female specific BOLD responses aligned with comparable task performance to that of males.
UNASSIGNED: Our results suggest that females compensate for their brain\'s heightened temperature sensitivity by activating additional neuronal networks to support working memory. This study not only underscores the complexity of gender differences in cognitive processing but also opens new avenues for understanding how temperature fluctuations influence brain functionality.