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Evolutionary framework for identifying sex‐ and species‐specific vulnerabilities in brain development and functions
Author(s) -
Geary David C.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.23794
Subject(s) - psychology , trait , sexual selection , brain function , stressor , cognitive science , selection (genetic algorithm) , function (biology) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , biology , computer science , neuroscience , evolutionary biology , artificial intelligence , programming language
Sexual selection describes the reproductive dynamics that drive the evolution of many sex differences but is rarely used to guide the study of brain development or function. This Mini‐Review describes how these dynamics can result in trait elaboration in one sex or the other and why these traits have a heightened sensitivity to stressors. The framework provides a conceptual model that will help to organize what we know about sex differences in brain and cognition, a means to focus the search for additional sex differences, and a means to predict brain systems that are particularly vulnerable to disruption by exposure to stressors. This Mini‐Review briefly illustrates these points using sex differences in birdsong and spatial navigation to highlight the benefits and the nuances of using evolutionary theory to help frame neuroscience studies of sex differences. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.