Sex and strategy effects on brain activation during a 3D-navigation task

Isabel Noachtar*, Ti-Anni Harris, Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez, Belinda Pletzer*

*Korrespondierende/r Autor/-in für diese Arbeit

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelPeer-reviewed

Abstract

Sex differences in navigation have often been attributed to the use of different navigation strategies in men and women. However, no study so far has investigated sex differences in the brain networks supporting different navigation strategies. To address this issue, we employed a 3D-navigation task during functional MRI in 36 men and 36 women, all scanned thrice, and modeled navigation strategies by instructions requiring an allocentric vs. egocentric reference frame on the one hand, as well as landmark-based vs. Euclidian strategies on the other hand. We found distinct brain networks supporting different perspectives/strategies. Men showed stronger activation of frontal areas, whereas women showed stronger activation of posterior brain regions. The left inferior frontal gyrus was more strongly recruited during landmark-based navigation in men. The hippocampus showed stronger connectivity with left-lateralized frontal areas in women and stronger connectivity with superior parietal areas in men. We discuss these findings in the light of a stronger recruitment of verbal networks supporting a more verbal strategy in women compared to a stronger recruitment of spatial networks supporting a more spatial strategy use in men. In summary, this study provides evidence that different navigation strategies activate different brain areas in men and women.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer234
Seitenumfang14
FachzeitschriftCommunications Biology
Jahrgang5
Ausgabenummer1
DOIs
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 16 März 2022

Bibliographische Notiz

Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF; P28261, P32276, W1233-G17) as well as ERC Starting Grant 850953. I.N. was supported by the Doctoral College “Imaging the Mind” (FWF; W 1233-B). We thank all participants for their time and willingness to contribute to this study.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

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