Socio-sexual processing in cortical circuits

How does social and sexual information processing map onto cortical circuits? Addressing this question has been difficult, because of a lack of circuit-oriented social neuroscience and an absence of measurements from interacting brains. Recent work showed social information is already differentially processed in the primary sensory cortices. Converging evidence suggests that prefrontal areas contribute to social interaction processing and determining social hierarchies. In social interactions, we identify gender in split seconds, but after centuries of anatomy we are still unable to distinguish male and female cortices. Novel data reinforce the idea of a bisexual layout of cortical anatomy. Physiological analysis, however, provided evidence for sex differences in cortical processing. Unlike other cortical circuits, sexual processing circuits undergo major rewiring and expansion during puberty and show lasting damage from childhood abuse.