Sexual dimorphism asymmetry of central sulcus

The central sulcus (CS), which is located between the primary motor and primary somatic sensory cortexes, is an important structure and landmark of the brain. In this study, we investigated the sexual dimorphism asymmetry of CS morphology. With three‐dimensional magnetic resonance images of 40 right‐handed volunteers (male 20 and female 20, aged 20‐30 year old), we retrospectively measured the length, depth and width of the CS (LCS, DCS and WCS) by using a ROI (region of interest) method combining automated sulcus reconstruction and recognition. Group differences of the both genders and the bilateral hemispheres were statistically tested. The average LCS was significantly larger in males (93.28 ± 3.91 mm) than females in the left hemisphere (87.41 ± 6.19 mm) (P < 0.05), while the average WCS was significantly larger in females (2.72 ± 0.71 mm) than males (2.38 ± 0.46 mm) in the right hemisphere (P < 0.01). In males, the average LCS and WCS were significantly larger in the left hemisphere (93.28 ± 3.91 mm, 2.85 ± 0.71 mm) than in the right hemisphere (84.59 ± 5.11 mm, 2.38 ± 0.46 mm) (P < 0.05). No significant CS morphology asymmetry was found in females. The results demonstrate that there was a much more significant CS morphologic asymmetry in males than females.