{"paper_id":"5fa04f19-3a17-4994-a83d-6b468a9289a5","body_text":"Sex differences in fetal intracranial volumes assessed by in utero MR imaging | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sex differences in fetal intracranial volumes assessed by in utero MR imaging Paul David Griffiths, Deborah Jarvis, Cara Mooney, Michael Campbell This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2312517/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 15 Mar, 2023 Read the published version in Biology of Sex Differences → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background : The primary aim of the study is to test the null hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences in intracranial volumes between male and female fetuses. Furthermore, we have studied the symmetry of the cerebral hemispheres in the cohort of low-risk fetuses. Methods : 200 normal fetuses between 18-37 gestational weeks (gw) were included in the cohort and all had in utero MR, consisting of routine and 3D-volume imaging. The surfaces of the cerebral ventricles, brain and internal table of the skull were outlined manually and volume measurements were obtained of ventricles (VV), brain parenchyma (BPV), extra-axial CSF spaces (EAV) and the total intracranial volume (TICV). The change in those values were studied over the gestational range, along with potential gender differences and asymmetries of the cerebral hemispheres. Results : BPV and VV increased steadily from 18 to 37 gestational weeks, and as a result TICV also increased steadily over that period. TICV and BPV increased at a statistically significantly greater rate in male relative to female fetuses after 24gw. The greater VV in male fetuses was apparent earlier but the rate of increase was similar for male and female fetuses. There was no difference between the genders in the left and right hemispherical volumes, and they remained symmetrical over the age range measured. Conclusions : We have described the growth of the major intracranial compartments in fetuses between 18-37gw. We have shown a number of statistically different features between male and female fetuses but we have not detected any asymmetry in volumes of the fetal cerebral hemispheres. in utero MR imaging brain volume gender differences Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 15 Mar, 2023 Read the published version in Biology of Sex Differences → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Minor Revision 27 Feb, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Dec, 2022 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Dec, 2022 Editor assigned by journal 05 Dec, 2022 First submitted to journal 25 Nov, 2022 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-2312517\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Research Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":157668232,\"identity\":\"e7302fff-0171-4156-9203-f1e11592ead0\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Paul David Griffiths\",\"email\":\"data:image/png;base64,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\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2706-5897\",\"institution\":\"The University of Sheffield\",\"correspondingAuthor\":true,\"submittingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Paul\",\"middleName\":\"David\",\"lastName\":\"Griffiths\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":157668233,\"identity\":\"d6d42de2-11db-4ca4-8cc7-d48873bfc14c\",\"order_by\":1,\"name\":\"Deborah Jarvis\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"The University of Sheffield\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"submittingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Deborah\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Jarvis\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":157668234,\"identity\":\"37df10c5-a6ce-4843-9f75-be947f285788\",\"order_by\":2,\"name\":\"Cara Mooney\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"The University of Sheffield\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"submittingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Cara\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Mooney\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":157668235,\"identity\":\"4a5559e5-aced-4114-af65-687d710c09e9\",\"order_by\":3,\"name\":\"Michael Campbell\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"The University of Sheffield\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"submittingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Michael\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Campbell\",\"suffix\":\"\"}],\"badges\":[],\"createdAt\":\"2022-11-25 12:40:47\",\"currentVersionCode\":1,\"declarations\":\"\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2312517/v1\",\"doiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2312517/v1\",\"draftVersion\":[],\"editorialEvents\":[{\"content\":\"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-023-00497-9\",\"type\":\"published\",\"date\":\"2023-03-15T20:02:27+00:00\"}],\"editorialNote\":\"\",\"failedWorkflow\":false,\"files\":[{\"id\":30027963,\"identity\":\"4010feb0-9479-46fb-b8b7-4079d90ea4be\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2022-12-07 18:38:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"Figure 1\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":5616489,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eImages of the intracranial compartments studied in this paper in a male fetuses at 22gw. The images are surface representations of the cerebral ventricles (1a-1c – 1a lateral projection, 1b frontal projection and 1c superior projection. The same order is used for the surface representations of the brain parenchyma (1d-1f) and the extraaxial CSF spaces (1g-1i).\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"1.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1/5a37560bd94c3fd71354c47d.png\"},{\"id\":30027966,\"identity\":\"05619bc6-a5e4-4e78-8cf4-989366670ce0\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2022-12-07 18:38:33\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":2,\"title\":\"Figure 2\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":7771276,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eThe same format as figure 1 for a 34gw male fetus.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"2.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1/47510bf5d794c43a5a9a8cd0.png\"},{\"id\":30028553,\"identity\":\"7a7e88e1-0fa1-4ed8-8bfd-b786cf279761\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2022-12-07 18:54:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":3,\"title\":\"Figure 3\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":5713,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eLowess plots of the four compartmental voulmes studied plotted against gestational\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u0026nbsp;age. VV = ventricular volume, EAV = extraaxial volume, BPV = brain parnchymal volume,\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u0026nbsp;TICV = total intracranial volume.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Placeholderimage.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1/ff823c0a286caf17e8adba5b.png\"},{\"id\":30027965,\"identity\":\"a53ad6a6-bdb9-4d5c-bf30-67f7b46f761d\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2022-12-07 18:38:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":4,\"title\":\"Figure 4\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":5713,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eRaw data and smoothing plots for ventricular volume (VV - 3a), extraaxial volume\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u0026nbsp;(EAV - 3b), brain parnchymal volume (BPV - 3c) and total intracranial volume (TICV - 3d)\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u0026nbsp;by gender (males blue, females red).\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Placeholderimage.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1/99e8917f9f8c99bebeee246c.png\"},{\"id\":30028362,\"identity\":\"e1299dea-b0ed-44fb-a53e-7df53d3e130b\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2022-12-07 18:46:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":5,\"title\":\"Figure 5\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"figure\",\"size\":5713,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eDifference in log hemispheric brain volumes (right-left) by gender (blue male, red\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u0026nbsp;female)\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Placeholderimage.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1/ae994dfcc06465ad616c999e.png\"},{\"id\":44723098,\"identity\":\"f67ee746-5c94-442c-b5e1-8c8ea6219336\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2023-10-16 20:13:17\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"manuscript-pdf\",\"size\":416694,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"mainbodynofiguresPDF.pdf\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2312517/v1_covered_f6b914f9-57fb-4317-bb95-0950810d6563.pdf\"}],\"financialInterests\":\"\",\"formattedTitle\":\"Sex differences in fetal intracranial volumes assessed by in utero MR imaging\",\"fulltext\":[],\"fulltextSource\":\"\",\"fullText\":\"\",\"funders\":[],\"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow\":false,\"hasManuscriptDocX\":false,\"hasOptedInToPreprint\":true,\"hasPassedJournalQc\":\"\",\"hasAnyPriority\":false,\"hideJournal\":false,\"highlight\":\"\",\"institution\":\"\",\"isAcceptedByJournal\":true,\"isAuthorSuppliedPdf\":true,\"isDeskRejected\":\"\",\"isHiddenFromSearch\":false,\"isInQc\":false,\"isInWorkflow\":false,\"isPdf\":true,\"isPdfUpToDate\":true,\"isWithdrawnOrRetracted\":false,\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"biology-of-sex-differences\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"bosd\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Biology of Sex Differences](http://bsd.biomedcentral.com)\",\"snPcode\":\"13293\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/13293/3\",\"title\":\"Biology of Sex Differences\",\"twitterHandle\":\"@BiologySexDiff\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"stoa\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"BMC/SO AJ\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":true},\"keywords\":\"in utero MR imaging, brain volume, gender differences\",\"lastPublishedDoi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2312517/v1\",\"lastPublishedDoiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2312517/v1\",\"license\":{\"name\":\"CC BY 4.0\",\"url\":\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\"},\"manuscriptAbstract\":\"\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eBackground\\u003c/strong\\u003e: The primary aim of the study is to test the null hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences in intracranial volumes between male and female fetuses. Furthermore, we have studied the symmetry of the cerebral hemispheres in the cohort of low-risk fetuses.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eMethods\\u003c/strong\\u003e: 200 normal fetuses between 18-37 gestational weeks (gw) were included in the cohort and all had in utero MR, consisting of routine and 3D-volume imaging. The surfaces of the cerebral ventricles, brain and internal table of the skull were outlined manually and volume measurements were obtained of ventricles (VV), brain parenchyma (BPV), extra-axial CSF spaces (EAV) and the total intracranial volume (TICV). The change in those values were studied over the gestational range, along with potential gender differences and asymmetries of the cerebral hemispheres.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eResults\\u003c/strong\\u003e: BPV and VV increased steadily from 18 to 37 gestational weeks, and as a result TICV also increased steadily over that period. TICV and BPV increased at a statistically significantly greater rate in male relative to female fetuses after 24gw. The greater VV in male fetuses was apparent earlier but the rate of increase was similar for male and female fetuses. There was no difference between the genders in the left and right hemispherical volumes, and they remained symmetrical over the age range measured.\\u0026nbsp;\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eConclusions\\u003c/strong\\u003e: We have described the growth of the major intracranial compartments in fetuses between 18-37gw. 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