ArticleThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2022
Deep learning identifies robust gender differences in functional brain organization and their dissociable links to clinical symptoms in autism.
Article in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is There a Bias Towards Males in the Diagnosis of Autism? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Abnormal amygdala functional connectivity and deep learning classification in multifrequency bands in autism spectrum disorder: A multisite functional magnetic resonance imaging study.Human brain mapping · 2023Pooled it
- Brain Gray Matter Alterations in Hepatic Encephalopathy: A Voxel-Based Meta-Analysis of Whole-Brain Studies.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Ethical Complexities and Concerns Surrounding Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Open-Access Scientific Framework in Autism Research.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Sex differences in autism spectrum disorder: behavioral and sensory phenotypes in humans and mouse models.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- [Advances in research on gender differences in autism spectrum disorders].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2025Review
- Reply to Lockhart et al.: Advancing the understanding of sex differences in functional brain organization with innovative AI tools.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Artificial Intelligence in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review.Current treatment options in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Age of machine learning: new trends in autism spectrum disorder prediction.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Explainable Machine Learning Models for Brain Diseases: Insights from a Systematic Review.Neurology international · 2024Review
- A sex-stratified analysis of the genetic architecture of human brain anatomy.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Frontoparietal and salience network synchronizations during nonsymbolic magnitude processing predict brain age and mathematical performance in youth.Human brain mapping · 2024Article
- Outcomes from Individual Alpha Frequency Guided Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Retrospective Chart Review.Child psychiatry and human development · 2024Article
- Sex-biasing influence of autism-associatedScience advances · 2024Article
- Neurofeedback training of executive function in autism spectrum disorder: distinct effects on brain activity levels and compensatory connectivity changes.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2024Article
- Deep learning models reveal replicable, generalizable, and behaviorally relevant sex differences in human functional brain organization.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Article
- Investigating Sex-Based Neural Differences in Autism and Their Extended Reality Intervention Implications.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Altered Spontaneous Brain Activity in Cirrhotic Patients with Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy: A Meta-Analysis of Resting-State Functional Imaging.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Autism diagnosis in females by eating disorder professionals.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder that affects nearly 1 in 189 females and 1 in 42 males. However, the neurobiological basis of gender differences in ASD is poorly understood, as most studies have neglected females and used methods ill-suited to capture such differences.
aimsTo identify robust functional brain organisation markers that distinguish between females and males with ASD and predict symptom severity.
methodWe leveraged multiple neuroimaging cohorts (ASD
resultsstDNN achieved consistently high classification accuracy in distinguishing between females and males with ASD. Notably, stDNN trained to distinguish between females and males with ASD could not distinguish between neurotypical females and males, suggesting that there are gender differences in the functional brain organisation in ASD that differ from normative gender differences. Brain features associated with motor, language and visuospatial attentional systems reliably distinguished between females and males with ASD. Crucially, these results were observed in a large multisite cohort and replicated in a fully independent cohort. Furthermore, brain features associated with the motor network's primary motor cortex node predicted the severity of restricted/repetitive behaviours in females but not in males with ASD.
conclusionsOur replicable findings reveal that the brains of females and males with ASD are functionally organised differently, contributing to their clinical symptoms in distinct ways. They inform the development of gender-specific diagnoses and treatment strategies for ASD, and ultimately advance precision psychiatry.
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