The influence of sex-linked genetic mechanisms on attention and impulsivity

It is now generally agreed that there are inherent sex differences in healthy individuals across a number of neurobiological domains (including brain structure, neurochemistry, and cognition). Moreover, there is a burgeoning body of evidence highlighting sex differences within neuropsychiatric populations (in terms of the rates of incidence, clinical features/progression, neurobiology and pathology). Here, we consider the extent to which attention and impulsivity are sexually dimorphic in healthy populations and the extent to which sex might modulate the expression of disorders characterised by abnormalities in attention and/or impulsivity such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and addiction. We then discuss general genetic mechanisms that might underlie sex differences in attention and impulsivity before focussing on specific positional and functional candidate sex-linked genes that are likely to influence these cognitive processes. Identifying novel sex-modulated molecular targets should ultimately enable us to develop more effective therapies in disorders associated with attentional/impulsive dysfunction.