Sex differences in the intrinsic reading neural networks of Chinese children

Sex differences in reading performance have been considered a relatively stable phenomenon. However, there is no general agreement about their neural basis, which might be due to that sex differences are largely influenced by age. This paper focuses on the sex differences in the reading-related neural network of Chinese children and its interaction with age. We also attempt to predict reading abilities based on neural network. Fifty-three boys and 56 girls (8.2–14.6 years of age) were recruited. We collected their resting-state fMRI and behavioural data. Restricted sex differences were found in the resting-state reading neural network compared to extensive age by sex interaction effect. Specifically, the interactions between sex and age indicated that with increasing age, girls showed greater connectivity strength between visual orthographic areas and other brain areas within the reading network, while boys showed an opposite trend. After controlling age, the prediction models of reading performance for the girls mainly included interhemispheric connections, while the intrahemispheric connections (particularly the phonological route) mainly contributed to predicting the reading ability for boys. Taken together, these findings suggest that sex differences in reading neural networks are modulated by age. Partialling out age, boys and girls also show the stable sex differences in relationship between reading neural circuit and reading behaviour.