Sex differences in anterior cingulate cortex activation during impulse inhibition and behavioral correlates

Abstract

Poor impulse inhibition is associated with behavioral problems including aggression and violence as well as clinical diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance abuse, all of which are more prevalent in men than in women. Studies have found that fronto-parietal and fronto-striatal-thalamic networks are critical for successful impulse inhibition. However, few studies have investigated neural differences in these networks between men and women. In this study, we use a well established behavioral task, the parametric Go/noGo task, to explore the relationships between brain regional activity during impulse control and impulsivity trait measures, as well as sex differences in these relationships. We found that males showed heightened activation of the rostral anterior cingulate, which correlated with ratings related to impulsivity. We also found that the activation/deactivation in males and females correlates with personality ratings in a sex-specific manner.