X Chromosome Insufficiency Alters the Structure and Function of the Human Visual Cortex

BrainPost, 15 October 2019

Turner syndrome is a genetic condition in females caused by the absence of a part of, or an entire, X chromosome. Women with Turner syndrome have specific cognitive deficits relating to the ability to perceive spatial relationships between objects and the ability to select and monitor goal-related behaviors. Previous research suggests that women and girls with Turner syndrome have structural changes in the parieto-occipital cortex (the part of the brain responsible for the integration of sensory information and the processing of visual information) when compared to typically developing controls. Specifically, females with Turner syndrome are reported to have a smaller volume of parieto-occipital cortex with a thicker surface. Despite knowing that these structural changes exist, it is not known whether abnormal processing of visual information occurs in females with Turner syndrome. Read more.