Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Comparison of performance on the male and female Cambridge Face Memory Task (long form) CFMT+ plotted as a function of sex of participant group. Task outlines of the (A) male (figure adapted from Russell et al., 2009) and (B) female (created for this experiment) versions of the CFMTs long form (images of female faces are published with permission from the Rafd and KDEF databases and include images AF16NES, AF19NES, and AF29NES). In these tasks, participants view target identities at multiple viewing angles and then must recognize the target faces among distractors with increasing levels of difficulty across blocks, which add noise with changes in lighting and viewpoint (block 2), visual noise (block 3), hair, affect, and repeating distractors (block 4). C, Mean of raw scores for accuracy with 95% inferential confidence intervals (ICIs) for male and female participant groups on each task for the entire sample of 116 participants. Note that the ICIs for male and female participants overlap on the M-CFMT+ and on the F-CFMT+, indicating that there is no sex difference on either task. However, there was a main effect of task, such that both groups performed more accurately on the F-CFMT+ than on the M-CFMT+, which prevented us from computing an unbiased estimate of the OGB and required us to compute standardized scores to do so. D, Standardized accuracy scores with 95% confidence intervals for male and female participants on each task for the entire sample of 116 participants. There was no pattern of OGB for either male or female participants.
- Figure 2.
Comparison of category-specific topographic functional organization in the ventral visual pathway between female and male participants. Contrast maps for each visual category from the group-level random effects GLM (FDR q < 0.05) for female (A, D, G) and male (B, E, H) participants. Face-related activation was defined as [Famous + Unfamiliar Faces] > [Objects + Navigation]. Object-related activation was defined by the weighted contrast 3*[Objects] > [Famous Faces + Unfamiliar Faces + Navigation]. Place-related activation was defined by the weighted contrast 3*[Navigation] > [Famous Faces + Unfamiliar Faces + Objects]. Direct contrasts between these maps reveal that there are no sex differences in the topographic organization of face-selective (C), object-selective (F), or place-selective (I) activation (all contrasts corrected at whole-brain FDR q < 0.05).
- Figure 3.
Comparing face-related activation as defined by functional size throughout the face-processing network in a priori ROIs. The ROIs were defined using the visual stimulation task and were thresholded for each individual participant using the FDR procedure (q < 0.001). Mean number of significant contiguous voxels in each ROI with 95% confidence intervals plotted as a function of participant sex. There were no sex differences in the functional size of any ROI.
- Figure 4.
A, B, Comparing face-related activation as defined by magnitude throughout the face-processing network in individually defined face-selective ROIs. The ROIs in the core and extended (A, B) face-processing network were defined using the visual stimulation task and were thresholded for each individual participant using the FDR procedure (q < 0.001). Each graph represents the mean parameter estimates (e.g., β weight) from the ROI-based GLM with 95% confidence intervals for male and female participants. There were no sex differences in the magnitude of the response to faces in any ROI.
- Figure 5.
A, B, Comparing face-related activation during recognition of female and male faces. Neural activation acquired during recognition of female and male faces in scanner face recognition task plotted as a function of participant sex for each ROI in the core (A) and extended (B) face-processing network. Each graph represents the mean β weight (with 95% confidence intervals) for female and male faces generated from a ROI-based GLM in the independently and individually defined face-related ROIs plotted as a function of participant sex. There were no sex differences in the magnitude of the response to female faces in any ROI.
Tables
Mean region coordinatesmale participants Mean region coordinatesfemale participants Category ROI N X Y Z Size (SD) N X Y Z Size (SD) Faces Coreregions R fusiformgyrus m-Fus (FFA2) 7 38 (6) −26 (6) −19 (5) 305 (516) 9 37 (3) −41 (16) −18 (3) 306.6 (529) p-Fus (FFA1) 15 37 (4) −45 (6) −20 (3) 1384.2 (908) 15 38 (4) −45 (7) −20 (4) 1959.7 (1424) pFG (IOG) 15 37 (5) −72 (7) −14 (10) 1008.2 (565) 14 36 (5) −75 (6) −17 (5) 1231.3 (1279) L Fusiform Gyrus m-Fus (FFA2) 5 −38 (6) −25 (8) −21 (4) 118.8 (231) 9 −41 (5) −36 (16) −20 (4) 320 (424) p-Fus (FFA1) 15 −40 (3) −45 (5) −20 (3) 1074 (626) 14 −41 (4) −45 (7) −21 (5) 1375.5 (979) pFG (IOG) 14 −40 (5) −69 (6) −19 (3) 867.3 (1039) 15 −40 (4) −75 (6) −17 (6) 1044.7 (1024) R OFA 14 46 (3) −62 (6) 4 (5) 1806.6 (1357) 14 44 (6) −64 (6) 4 (5) 1909.33 (1648) L OFA 13 −50 (5) −65 (7) 6 (5) 1166.4 (1317) 14 −49 (7) −66 (7) 6 (5) 1181.5 (1029) R STS 15 50 (4) −41 (6) 8 (5) 2585.1 (1795) 15 50 (5) −40 (6) 6 (5) 2814.7 (1925) L STS 14 −56 (6) −43 (6) 7 (5) 1511.2 (1486) 14 −55 (7) −44 (4) 5 (6) 1048.6 (918) Extended regions vmPFC 13 2 (3) 47 (8) −8 (6) 594.1 (650) 11 3 (4) 50 (6) −7 (5) 806.3 (1051) PCC 13 1 (3) −51 (5) 25 (7) 890 (1287) 10 3 (3) −53 (5) 22 (7) 567.3 (831) R Amyg 12 18 (4) −6 (2) −12 (2) 128 (152) 10 17 (3) −7 (2) −11 (3) 206.5 (299) L Amyg 12 −18 (3) −6 (5) −12 (2) 85 (143) 8 −19 (2) −7 (2) −11 (2) 170.3 (296) R ATP 13 36 (4) 1 (7) −31 (5) 154 (220) 13 32 (9) 3 (9) −30 (5) 183.8 (320) L ATP 9 −37 (5) −2 (6) −27 (5) 72.5 (116) 7 −37 (4) −3 (5) −28 (6) 70.4 (183) Places R PPA 15 30 (10) −44 (9) −10 (3) 439 (433) 12 25 (4) −41 (8) −13 (5) 338.7 (464) L PPA 13 −27 (4) −45 (8) −11 (4) 333.6 (333) 10 −29 (4) −43 (8) −12 (5) 170.5 (341) Objects R LOC 14 46 (4) −62 (6) −9 (7) 2186.5 (1746) 14 46 (5) −58 (6) −11 (4) 1308.3 (1925) L LOC 15 −47 (5) −65 (5) −9 (3) 3215.5 (1686) 14 −47 (3) −64 (5) −8 (6) 2740.9 (529) *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005, ****p < 0.001.
- Table 2.
Comparing the number of male and female participants who had definable functional regions in the visual stimulation experiment
Category ROI χ2 df p Faces Core regions R fusiform gyrus m-Fus (FFA2) 16.29 16 n.s. p-Fus (FFA1) 30.00 29 n.s. pFG (IOG) 30.00 29 n.s. L fusiform gyrus m-Fus (FFA2) 17.08 17 n.s. p-Fus (FFA1) 30.00 29 n.s. pFG (IOG) 30.00 29 n.s. R OFA 28.00 28 n.s. L OFA 27.33 27 n.s. R STS 30.00 29 n.s. L STS 28.00 28 n.s. Extended regions vmPFC PCC 24.67 24 n.s. R Amyg 24.29 23 n.s. L Amyg 22.50 22 n.s. R ATL 21.60 19 n.s. L ATL 24.00 24 n.s. Places R PPA 14.29 15 n.s. L PPA 30.00 26 n.s. Objects R LOC 24.29 22 n.s. L LOC 28.00 28 n.s. - Table 3.
Summary of results from repeated-measures ANOVAs on the magnitude and size of category-selective activation during the visual stimulation experiment in each pair of bilateral ROIs
Size Magnitude Category df F p df F p Face ROIs Core regions p-Fus (FFA2) Group 1, 28 0.576 0.454 1, 12 0.733 0.409 Hem 1, 28 0.917 0.346 1, 12 0.523 0.483 Group × Hem 1, 28 1.224 0.278 1, 12 0.186 0.674 m-Fus (FFA1) Group 1, 28 1.638 0.211 1, 28 0.763 0.390 Hem 1, 28 8.829 0.006 1, 28 1.438 0.241 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.829 0.370 1, 28 0.165 0.688 pFG (IOG) Group 1, 28 0.436 0.515 1, 25 0.652 0.427 Hem 1, 28 0.609 0.442 1, 25 3.354 0.079 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.012 0.914 1, 25 0.928 0.345 OFA Group 1, 28 0.019 0.890 1, 23 1.630 0.214 Hem 1, 28 7.025 0.013 1, 23 2.410 0.134 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.029 0.866 1, 23 1.240 0.277 STS Group 1, 28 0.058 0.812 1, 26 0.002 0.969 Hem 1, 28 20.791 0.000 1, 26 2.593 0.119 Group × Hem 1, 28 1.235 0.276 1, 26 1.505 0.231 Extended regions Amygdala Group 1, 28 1.116 0.300 1, 17 2.446 0.136 Hem 1, 28 1.175 0.288 1, 17 4.085 0.059 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.009 0.926 1, 17 0.304 0.589 ATL Group 1, 28 0.053 0.820 1, 13 0.132 0.722 Hem 1, 28 3.200 0.084 1, 13 1.887 0.193 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.086 0.772 1, 13 1.599 0.228 Place ROIs PPA Group 1, 28 1.095 0.304 1, 21 0.016 0.901 Hem 1, 28 3.578 0.069 1, 21 0.005 0.947 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.183 0.672 1, 21 0.213 0.649 Object ROIs LOC Group 1, 28 2.788 0.106 1, 26 1.195 0.284 Hem 1, 28 27.227 0.000 1, 26 8.917 0.006 Group × Hem 1, 28 1.864 0.183 1, 26 0.719 0.404 Face-selective activation defined for face ROIs, object-selective activation defined for object ROIs, and place-selective activation defined for place ROIs. Bolded p values surpassed the FWE correction of p < 0.004.
- Table 4.
Summary of results from series of independent-samples t tests comparing female and male participants on the size and magnitude of category-selective activation during the visual stimulation experiment and the OGB in the magnitude of activation elicited during the identity recognition experiment within each ROI
Visual stimulation task Scanner recognition task Female > male OGB Size Magnitude Magnitude Category t df p t df p t df p Faces Core regions R p-Fus (FFA2) -0.008 28 0.993 0.809 16 0.430 -0.283 15 0.781 L p-Fus (FFA2) -1.612 28 0.118 -0.319 16 0.754 0.370 15 0.717 R m-Fus (FFA1) -1.320 28 0.198 -1.004 28 0.324 0.366 28 0.717 L m-Fus (FFA1) -1.005 28 0.324 -0.540 28 0.593 -0.603 27 0.552 R pFG (IOG) -0.618 28 0.542 0.988 27 0.332 -1.005 26 0.324 L pFG (IOG) -0.471 28 0.641 -0.133 26 0.896 -0.572 25 0.573 R OFA -0.186 28 0.853 -0.261 26 0.796 0.186 27 0.853 L OFA -0.035 28 0.972 -1.189 25 0.246 1.620 26 0.117 R STS -0.338 28 0.738 -0.598 28 0.554 1.640 27 0.113 L STS 1.026 28 0.314 0.646 26 0.524 2.476 27 0.020 Extended regions vmPFC -0.665 28 0.512 -0.355 23 0.726 2.711 22 0.013 PCC 0.816 28 0.421 0.298 21 0.769 2.725 20 0.013 R Amyg -0.908 28 0.371 0.933 20 0.362 0.319 19 0.753 L Amyg -1.004 28 0.324 1.350 18 0.193 0.754 17 0.461 R ATL -0.297 28 0.769 0.468 23 0.644 0.483 22 0.634 L ATL 0.037 28 0.971 0.561 14 0.583 0.285 13 0.781 Places R PPA 0.615 28 0.544 0.160 25 0.874 -1.816 24 0.082 L PPA 1.322 28 0.197 0.028 21 0.978 -1.618 21 0.121 Objects R LOC 2.424 28 0.022 -1.302 26 0.204 -3.362 25 0.002 L LOC 0.773 28 0.446 -0.365 27 0.718 -1.853 26 0.075 For the visual stimulation task, face-selective activation defined for face ROIs, object-selective activation defined for object ROIs and place-selective activation defined for place ROIs. The OGB was defined relative to each participant’s sex as a difference score in the magnitude of activation in response to the male and female face recognition blocks (e.g., for a female participant female > male blocks). The t tests evaluated a difference in magnitude of this relative OGB between the two sexes. Bolded p values surpassed the FWE correction of p < 0.004. All t tests were independent-samples two-tailed tests.
- Table 5.
Summary of results from repeated-measures ANOVAs on the magnitude of face activation during the identity recognition experiment in each pair of bilateral ROIs
Category df F p Faces Core regions p-Fus (FFA2) Group 1, 12 3.823 0.074 Hem 1, 12 0.309 0.588 Stim Sex 1, 12 0.484 0.500 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 12 0.549 0.473 Stim Sex × Group 1, 12 0.097 0.760 Group × Hem 1, 12 0.739 0.407 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 12 0.006 0.942 m-Fus (FFA1) Group 1, 28 0.145 0.706 Hem 1, 28 6.007 0.021 Stim Sex 1, 28 0.956 0.337 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 28 0.258 0.615 Stim Sex × Group 1, 28 0.210 0.651 Group × Hem 1, 28 0.080 0.780 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 28 0.113 0.739 pFG (IOG) Group 1, 25 0.339 0.566 Hem 1, 25 0.014 0.906 Stim Sex 1, 25 0.736 0.399 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 25 0.149 0.703 Stim Sex × Group 1, 25 0.029 0.866 Group × Hem 1, 25 1.385 0.250 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 25 0.215 0.647 OFA Group 1, 23 1.628 0.215 Hem 1, 23 12.688 0.002 Stim Sex 1, 23 0.245 0.626 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 23 2.902 0.102 Stim Sex × Group 1, 23 0.119 0.733 Group × Hem 1, 23 1.016 0.324 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 23 0.088 0.770 STS Group 1, 26 0.541 0.468 Hem 1, 26 0.421 0.522 Stim Sex 1, 26 3.953 0.057 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 26 1.757 0.197 Stim Sex × Group 1, 26 0.053 0.820 Group × Hem 1, 26 0.000 0.994 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 26 0.052 0.822 Extended regions Amyg Group 1, 17 1.607 0.222 Hem 1, 17 0.002 0.966 Stim Sex 1, 17 0.560 0.464 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 17 0.407 0.532 Stim Sex × Group 1, 17 1.661 0.215 Group × Hem 1, 17 0.148 0.705 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 17 3.909 0.064 ATL Group 1, 13 0.005 0.945 Hem 1, 13 1.116 0.310 Stim Sex 1, 13 1.141 0.305 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 13 0.930 0.352 Stim Sex × Group 1, 13 0.039 0.847 Group × Hem 1, 13 0.041 0.844 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 13 0.935 0.351 Places PPA Group 1, 21 0.277 0.604 Hem 1, 21 0.600 0.447 Stim Sex 1, 21 4.797 0.040 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 21 0.779 0.387 Stim Sex × Group 1, 21 0.000 0.999 Group × Hem 1, 21 1.287 0.269 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 21 3.653 0.070 Objects LOC Group 1, 26 0.099 0.755 Hem 1, 26 0.098 0.757 Stim Sex 1, 26 9.922 0.004 Stim Sex × Hem 1, 26 1.765 0.196 Stim Sex × Group 1, 26 2.240 0.146 Group × Hem 1, 26 0.081 0.778 Group × Hem × Stim Sex 1, 26 0.882 0.356 Face-selective activation defined for face ROIs, object-selective activation defined for object ROIs and place-selective activation defined for place ROIs. Bolded p values surpassed the FWE correction of p < 0.004.
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