engleski

Sex differences in early communication development reveal developmental windows for analyzing early brain maturation

There are many reports describing sex and gender differences in early language development (e.g., the appearance of the first word ; early lexical development). In contrast, there are few data on possible sex differences in early social communication skills. Several studies suggested a significant gender effect on early communication skills ; in addition, the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as the most prominent social communication pathology is significantly higher in boys than in girls. In this study, we used the Communication and Symbolic Behavioral Scales Developmental Profile, Infant-Toddler Checklist (CSBS-DP ; Wetherby and Prizant, 2003 ; translated by M. Cepanec) to collect and analyze data on 1400 girls and boys aged 6 to 24 months. All subjects have been living in family setting in Croatia and had no reported medical disorders. We demonstrated that boys achieved lower scores on CSBS-DP Infant Toddler Checklist, especially with respect to speech and symbo lic domain. However, differences in social domain were less prominent. The most significant differences (in all domains) were noticed during two developmental windows: between 13 and 15 and between 20 and 21 months of age. These findings indicate that there may be sex-related differences in brain maturation, especially in language- and cognition-related regions of the cerebral cortex.

sex; communication; language; gender

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