ReviewNature neuroscience2011
Reframing sexual differentiation of the brain.
Review in Nature neuroscience, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 366 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
366 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 722 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuropsychiatric disorders in children of mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Sex-dependent vulnerability to early-life phthalates exposure and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- In support of 2D:4D: More data exploring its conflicting results on handedness, sexual orientation and sex differences.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Human studies of mitochondrial biology demonstrate an overall lack of binary sex differences: A multivariate meta-analysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2022Pooled it
- Sexual Orientation in Individuals With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Sexual dimorphism in epidermal stem cell dynamics.Nature · 2026Article
- Thalamic projections from the cerebellar nuclei receiving proprioceptive signals from the jaw muscles in rats.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- High-fat diet exposure, internal state, and reward value influence decision making during motivational conflict.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- The EDC mixture "NeuroMix" alters neuroendocrine physiology, fatty food preference, and the central reward transcriptome.Endocrinology · 2026Article
- An atlas of primate insular cortex reveals a signal-processing strategy in von Economo neurons.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Sex Differences in Depression: Adult Cytogenesis as Potential Target for Precision Psychiatry.Cells · 2026Review
- Impact of sex chromosomes and gonad type in stress susceptibility in corticostriatal brain regions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Gonadal Sex and Sex-Chromosome Complement Interact to Affect Ethanol Consumption in Adolescent Four Core Genotypes Mice.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- The prenatal sex steroid theory of autism after 25 years.Nature human behaviour · 2026Review
- An Epigenetic Switch for Sex-Specific Brain Resilience in Stroke: Targeting HDAC2 to Amplify Endogenous Oxytocin Signaling.ACS central science · 2026Article
- Advancing insights into the neuroendocrine basis of socio-sexual interactions in mammals.Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Fetal developmental trajectories following maternal immune activation are shaped by sex chromosome-gonadal interactions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Tamoxifen as a Therapeutic Intervention for Neurobehavioral Deficits in a Propionic Acid-Induced Autism Model via Anti-inflammatory Mechanisms.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Differential effects of sex and age on daily and infradian rhythms of mice.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
306 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
In the twentieth century, the dominant model of sexual differentiation stated that genetic sex (XX versus XY) causes differentiation of the gonads, which then secrete gonadal hormones that act directly on tissues to induce sex differences in function. This serial model of sexual differentiation was simple, unifying and seductive. Recent evidence, however, indicates that the linear model is incorrect and that sex differences arise in response to diverse sex-specific signals originating from inherent differences in the genome and involve cellular mechanisms that are specific to individual tissues or brain regions. Moreover, sex-specific effects of the environment reciprocally affect biology, sometimes profoundly, and must therefore be integrated into a realistic model of sexual differentiation. A more appropriate model is a parallel-interactive model that encompasses the roles of multiple molecular signals and pathways that differentiate males and females, including synergistic and compensatory interactions among pathways and an important role for the environment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.