Biology subjects

Matte Bon, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Matte Bon, G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Brain anatomy in major hormonal transition phases: Longitudinal and cross-sectional volume associations with menarche and menopause

BackgroundHormonal transition phases represent windows of increased neuroplasticity across the female lifespan. In this study, we aim to investigate the brain anatomical architecture of hormonal transition phases by directly comparing menarche, as a period of rising levels of steroid hormones, and menopause, as a time of declining levels. MethodsWe fit linear models on cross-sectional and linear mixed-effect models on longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets, to explore the effects of menarche onset (ABCD study data, Ncross-sectional=1274, Nlongitudinal=611) and transition into menopause (UK Biobank data, Ncross-sectional=1614, Nlongitudinal=212) on 66 cortical and 135 subcortical brain volumes, and to identify brain structures with opposing but regional overlapping effects in both periods. Models were adjusted for age and corrected for multiple comparison (P <.05; FDR-corrected). ResultsCross-sectionally, using a between-subject design, 83 brain volumes showed effects of menarche-onset and 17 volumes showed effects of menopause-transition. Of these, seven brain volumes were significantly affected by both transitional periods, showing opposing directional volume changes. Longitudinally, using a within-subject design, 56 brain volumes exhibited menarche effects, of which 46 replicated cross-sectionally. No menopause effect survived correction for multiple comparison, likely due to limited longitudinal sample size. ConclusionOur findings confirm regionally overlapping brain structural alteration between the two hormonal phases - menarche and menopause - showing the hypothesized opposite effect directions. Additionally, our results show the robustness of menarche effects, which converged across cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. Taken together, our results contribute to a better understanding of hormone related neuroplasticity, emphasizing the importance of not only understanding individual phases, but understanding the overarching patterns across the female reproductive lifespan.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Sex-stratified insights into the genetics of brain volumes in late adulthood

BackgroundThe prevalence, timing and disease course of mental and neurological disorders vary according to sex, yet the neurogenetic mechanisms underlying sex differences in these disorders remain poorly understood. Methods. Here, we explored the genetic architecture of the anatomical volumes of 257 regions of interest across the brain using multivariate genome-wide analyses in 15,740 male and 15,740 female participants from the UK Biobank, matched on age and scan site. ResultsOur findings revealed that the genetics of brain volume is highly similar between females and males in late adulthood. Yet, we found evidence of possible autosomal sex heterogeneity, particularly in the number of brain-volume associated genes, which was higher in females than in males. Variability in the number of identified genes were marked in limbic regions such as the insula, the cingulate cortex, the hippocampus and the amygdala. Conclusion.Overall, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the genetic determinants of brain volumes in males and females. Because neurogenetics may also influence the risk for sex-prevalent brain disorders, the current findings have the potential to facilitate precision medicine approaches in improving prevention strategies and targeted treatments. Plain English summaryMental and neurobiological disorders often differ between females and males. Some disorders are more common in one sex than the other, and symptoms can present or evolve differently. Variation in brain biology, partly shaped by genetic factors, may contribute to these observed patterns. In this study, we investigated genetic factors linked to brain structure in females and males separately. We focused on the volumes of 257 brain regions and analyzed genetic data from more than 30,000 adults from the UK Biobank. Overall, we found that the patterns of association between genetics and brain volumes are largely similar between females and males in late adulthood. At the same time, we observed evidence of sex-dependent patterns, particularly in the number of genes associated with brain volume, which tended to be higher in females than in males. These differences were marked in brain regions involved in the limbic system. Together, our findings improve our understanding of how genetics contribute to brain structure in females and males. HighlightsGenetic influences on brain volumes are largely shared between females and males in late adulthood. Gene-level variability was observed, with a higher number of brain volumes associated genes identified in females than in male, in both multivariate and univariate analyses. This gene-level variability was most pronounced in limbic regions, such as the insular and cingulate cortices.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Inter- and intra-individual differences in brain sex map to neuroendocrine profiles

Sex hormone fluctuations modulate structural and functional brain dynamics, yet little is known how sex steroid levels map onto the expression of sex differences in the brain. Here, we trained machine learning models for brain sex classification based on anatomical structures in cross-sectional data of N = 1090 individuals (50% females, age matched). Applied to dense sampled data of one male and two females in different hormonal states (naturally cycling, oral contraceptive user, pregnancy), we linked inter- and intra-individual fluctuations in brain sex to neuroendocrine modulation. We found lower variation in brain sex across time in the male compared to the female subjects. Oral contraceptive use was associated with a more female-like brain, while (inverted) U-shaped brain sex trajectories emerged across menstrual cycle phases and pregnancy trimesters. Overall, our findings suggest that changes in brain sex capture hormone-related plasticity over time in dense sampled individuals.

neuroscience↗