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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Imaging and Stimulation
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1432830
This article is part of the Research Topic Neuroplasticity and Imaging Methods in Rehabilitation: A Focus on Advanced Data Visualization View all articles

Sex differences in patterns of white matter neuroplasticity after balance training in young adults

Provisionally accepted
Eric D. Kirby Eric D. Kirby 1,2,3Justin W. Andrushko Justin W. Andrushko 4,5,6Lara A. Boyd Lara A. Boyd 5,6Karl Koschutnig Karl Koschutnig 7Ryan C. D'Arcy Ryan C. D'Arcy 1,5,8*
  • 1 BrainNet, Health and Technology District, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
  • 2 Faculty of Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • 3 Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • 4 Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, United Kingdom
  • 5 Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • 6 Brain Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Metro Vancouver, Canada
  • 7 BioTechMed, University of Graz, Graz, Styria, Austria
  • 8 Faculty of Applied Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In past work we demonstrated different patterns of white matter (WM) plasticity in females versus males associated with learning a lab-based unilateral motor skill. However, this work was completed in neurologically intact older adults. The current manuscript sought to replicate and expand upon these WM findings in two ways: 1) we investigated biological sex differences in neurologically intact young adults, and 2) participants learned a dynamic full-body balance task. 24 participants (14 female, 10 male) participated in the balance training intervention, and 28 were matched controls (16 female, 12 male). Both females and males demonstrated skill acquisition, yet there were significant differences in measures of WM between females and males. These data support a growing body of evidence suggesting that females exhibit increased WM neuroplasticity changes relative to males despite comparable changes in motor behaviour (e.g. balance). The biological sex differences reported here may represent an important factor to consider in both basic research (e.g. collapsing across females and males) as well as future clinical studies of neuroplasticity associated with motor function (e.g. tailored rehabilitation approaches).

    Keywords: white matter1, neuroplasticity2, Motor Learning3, correlational tractography4, MRI5

    Received: 14 May 2024; Accepted: 08 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kirby, Andrushko, Boyd, Koschutnig and D'Arcy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ryan C. D'Arcy, BrainNet, Health and Technology District, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.