Developmental gender differences in the synchronization of auditory event-related oscillations

作者：Nanova Plamenka; Kolev Vasil; Yordanova Juliana^*

来源：Clinical Neurophysiology, 2011, 122(5): 907-915.

DOI：10.1016/j.clinph.2010.09.012

• Gender
• Development
• Children
• Time-frequency
• ERP components

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to explore the neurophysiologic origins of gender differences in auditory processing mechanisms of 7-10 year-old children by means of event-related oscillations. It was tested if the developmental changes in synchronization and magnitude of oscillations in different processing conditions depended on gender.
Methods: Eighteen girls and 18 boys aged 7-10 years were pair wise matched for age and were divided into two age groups. Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in passive, sensorimotor and working memory conditions. Phase-locking and single-trial magnitude of ERPs were analyzed in the delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), slow (7-10 Hz), and fast (10-14 Hz) alpha frequency bands to test the effects of gender, age, and processing condition.
Results: The phase-locking of auditory delta, theta, and slow alpha oscillations increased with development only in girls, independently of task processing. Only for the theta phase-locking was this effect additionally affected by the motor-related task. No changes in the magnitude of oscillations accompanied these gender differences in synchronization except for parietal delta responses that also increased with development only in girls.
Conclusions: The results demonstrate that gender differences in auditory ERPs basically originate from a stronger functional synchronization of oscillatory responses generated during stimulus processing. Significance: The study provides evidence that the functional maturation of oscillatory auditory networks reflected by a progressive developmental increase of synchronization, is accelerated in girls relative to boys between 7 and 10 years of age.

• 出版日期2011-5