Sex-based differences in brain morphometry under chronic stress: A pilot MRI study

Zhilei Shang; Nianqi Liu; Hui Ouyang; Xiaojie Cai; Wenjie Yan; Jing Wang; Jingye Zhan; Yanpu Jia; Chenqi Xing; Lijun Huang; Lili Wu; Weizhi Liu

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30354

Sex-based differences in brain morphometry under chronic stress: A pilot MRI study

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 26;10(9):e30354. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30354. eCollection 2024 May 15.

Authors

Zhilei Shang^{1

2}, Nianqi Liu³, Hui Ouyang^{1

2}, Xiaojie Cai⁴, Wenjie Yan^{1

2}, Jing Wang^{1

2}, Jingye Zhan^{1

2}, Yanpu Jia^{1

2}, Chenqi Xing^{1

2}, Lijun Huang⁴, Lili Wu^{1

2}, Weizhi Liu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Lab for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
² The Emotion & Cognition Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
³ Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Educational Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
⁴ Department of Radiology, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Suzhou University, Changshu, 215500, China.

Abstract

Background: Sex-based differences are known to be a significant feature of chronic stress; however, the morphological mechanisms of the brain underlying these differences remain unclear. The present study aimed to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate the effects of sex on gray matter volume (GMV) changes under conditions of chronic stress.

Methods: A total of 32 subjects were included for analysis in the present study: 16 participants experiencing chronic stress and 16 healthy controls. T1-weighted (T1WI) images from a 3 T MRI scanner were extracted from the OpenfMRI database. Images were segmented into gray matter using VBM analysis. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a 2 × 2 full factorial design was used to evaluate the main and interaction effects of chronic stress and sex on GMV changes, and then post hoc testing was used to verify each simple effect.

Results: Two-way ANOVA showed a chronic stress × sex interaction effect on GMV. Simple effects analysis indicated that the GMV of the bilateral pre- and post-central gyri, the right cuneus and superior occipital gyrus was decreased in males, whereas that of the bilateral pre- and post-central gyri, the right superior occipital gyrus and the left middle frontal gyrus and orbital middle frontal gyrus was increased in females, under chronic stress. Additionally, in the control group, the GMV of the bilateral pre- and post-central gyri, the right cuneus and superior occipital gyrus was greater in males than females. While in the chronic stress group, the above sex-based differences were no longer significant.

Conclusions: This study preliminarily shows that there are significant differences in gray matter volume changes between males and females under chronic stress. These findings provide a basis for future studies investigating the volumetric mechanisms of sex differences under chronic stress.

Keywords: Chronic stress; Gray matter volume (GMV); Sex-based difference; Voxel-based morphometry (VBM).