ReviewFrontiers in neuroendocrinology2020
Sex bias and omission in neuroscience research is influenced by research model and journal, but not reported NIH funding.
Review in Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 4 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
78 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 141 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hemispheric asymmetries in borderline personality disorder: a systematic review.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation in the aging brain: a systematic review from animal models to humans.GeroScience · 2024Pooled it
- Methods for Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB): A Systematic Review and Guidelines.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2023Pooled it
- Demographic reporting across a decade of neuroimaging: a systematic review.Brain imaging and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Application of Machine Learning Models to Identify Differences in Neural Electrophysiological Properties Across Estrous Cycle Phases.Neuroinformatics · 2026Article
- Claims of sex-dependent effects in the behavioral and brain sciences are infrequently supported by valid statistical comparisons.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Large-scale automated detection reveals pervasive sex imbalance in biomedical research.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in Metabolite-Immune Circuits of Neuroinflammation.Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- Sex differences in AMPA receptor trafficking proteins.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- The "sex-specific effect:" Evaluating analytical approaches to sex-dependence in the behavioral and brain sciences.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Should we consider gender aspects in pharmacology teaching? No-we must!Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Consideration of sex as a biological variable over the history of the 5xFAD Alzheimer's Disease mouse model.Biology of sex differences · 2025Article
- Egr1 is a sex-dependent regulator of neuronal chromatin, structural plasticity, and behaviour.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Investigating the ameliorative effect of Kalanchoe pinnata on neuroinflammation-associated Alzheimer's disease using network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro studies.Journal of computer-aided molecular design · 2025Article
- Single-nucleus neuronal transcriptional profiling of male C. elegans uncovers regulators of sex-specific and sex-shared behaviors.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Neuron soma size and density measurements in rat striatal regions disaggregated by sex and estrous cycle phase.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- Cardiovascular contributions to dementia: Examining sex differences and female-specific factors.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Review
- The effect of traumatic brain injury on learning and memory: A synaptic focus.The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry · 2025Review
- Influence of biological sex on neuroinflammatory dynamics in the aging brain.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Sex modifies the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and insulin resistance in adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease.Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme · 2025Observational
18 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
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Neuroscience research has historically demonstrated sex bias that favors male over female research subjects, as well as sex omission, which is the lack of reporting sex. Here we analyzed the status of sex bias and omission in neuroscience research published across six different journals in 2017. Regarding sex omission, 16% of articles did not report sex. Regarding sex bias, 52% of neuroscience articles reported using both males and females, albeit only 15% of articles using both males and females reported assessing sex as an experimental variable. Overrepresentation of the sole use of males compared to females persisted (26% versus 5%, respectively). Sex bias and omission differed across research models, but not by reported NIH funding status. Sex omission differed across journals. These findings represent the latest information regarding the complex status of sex in neuroscience research and illustrate the continued need for thoughtful and informed action to enhance scientific discovery.
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.