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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 7, 2007, 27(6):1356-1364; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4753-06.2007

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Gender-Specific Left–Right Asymmetries in Human Visual Cortex

Katrin Amunts,^1,2 Este Armstrong,¹ Aleksandar Malikovic,¹ Lars Hömke,¹ Hartmut Mohlberg,¹ Axel Schleicher,³ and Karl Zilles^1,3

¹Institute of Medicine, Research Center Jülich, D-52525 Jülich, Germany, ²Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen, Germany, and ³C. and O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research, Heine University Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Katrin Amunts, Research Center Jülich, Institute of Medicine, 52425 Jülich, Germany. Email: k.amunts{at}fz-juelich.de

The structural correlates of gender differences in visuospatial processing are essentially unknown. Our quantitative analysis of the cytoarchitecture of the human primary visual cortex [V1/Brodmann area 17 (BA17)], neighboring area V2 (BA18), and the cytoarchitectonic correlate of the motion-sensitive complex (V5/MT+/hOc5) shows that the visual areas are sexually dimorphic and that the type of dimorphism differs among the areas. Gender differences exist in the interhemispheric asymmetry of hOc5 volumes and in the right-hemispheric volumetric ratio of hOc5 to BA17, an area that projects to V5/MT+/hOc5. Asymmetry was also observed in the surface area of hOc5 but not in its cortical thickness. The differences give males potentially more space in which to process additional information, a finding consistent with superior male processing in particular visuospatial tasks, such as mental rotation. Gender differences in hOc5 exist with similar volume fractions of cell bodies, implying that, overall, the visual neural circuitry is similar in males and females.

Key words: human brain anatomy; visual system; cytoarchitecture; gender differences; asymmetry; cortical surface

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Received Feb. 22, 2006; revised Dec. 22, 2006; accepted Dec. 22, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Katrin Amunts, Research Center Jülich, Institute of Medicine, 52425 Jülich, Germany. Email: k.amunts{at}fz-juelich.de

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