The ability to successfully perform different kinds of cognitive activity is reflected in the topological features of intercortical interactions: Sex-related differences between boys and girls aged five to six years

Abstract

The study of the correlation of intellectual development according to the WISC test with the spatial organization of resting EEG in 52 children aged five to six years showed that the patterns of interregional interactions of different parts of the cortex, which correspond with the best performance in the subtests in boys (n = 23) and girls (n = 29) have significant topological differences. In girls, successful subtest performance was positively correlated with a greater degree of interhemispheric interactions; in boys, with long longitudinal rostral–caudal interactions between various regions of the cortex. The results showed the presence of important gender differences in the spatial organization of brain activity associated with the performance of different cognitive activities in preschool children. The successful performance of various subtests by boys required considerable variability in the organization of spatial patterns of interregional interactions; on the contrary, the spatial structure of these patterns in girls was relatively invariable. Obviously, for the successful performance of various cognitive activities at this age in boys, the cortex needs to form highly specialized organization of intercortical interactions, while in girls the brain uses relatively similar reorganization of systemic interactions. The data suggest that five- to six-year-old boys and girls use different cognitive strategies when performing the same subtests of the WISC test.