Special Issue on Sex and gender differences in neurological disorders

Considerable evidence in the literature demonstrates the existence of structural and functional differences between male and female brain. Although sex differences in the brain have been recognized for decades, it is not well known how those differences translate into clinical manifestations, disease progression and response to treatment in neurological disorders.

Many neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions differ significantly between sexes with regards to the prevalence, age of onset, pathophysiology, and symptomatology. Females suffer more from mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, have higher prevalence for Alzheimer’s disease, whereas males are more susceptible to deficits in the dopamine system including Parkinson's disease (PD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although multiple sclerosis (MS) is twice as common in women, men tend to have a more severe and progressive form.

The neurosciences field has particularly suffered from a bias toward using male animals. Sex continues to be largely ignored in preclinical studies, and biological sex is rarely taken in consideration when making treatment decisions in neurological disorders.

For this reason, we are calling for papers focused on molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in healthy and diseased brain. We strongly believe that better understanding of these differences will help in generating diagnostic and therapeutic strategies optimal for each sex.