A recent study by neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups.
The study showed that in dyslexic males, less gray matter volume is found in areas of the brain used to process language but in dyslexic females, less gray matter volume is found in areas involved in sensory and motor processing. This study suggests that dyslexia may have a different brain-based manifestation based on gender.
This study is important because it is the first to directly compare brain anatomy of females with and without dyslexia. Historically, dyslexia has been identified more often in males and thus females have sometimes been overlooked, an outcome which this study hoped to overturn.
The study tries to show that when researching dyslexia, researchers should address the brain structures of each sex separately in order to address the questions about its origins and potential treatments.