Abstract: The X chromosome has played a critical role in the development of sexually selected characteristics for over 300 million years, and during that time it has accumulated a disproportionate number of genes concerned with mental functions. There are relatively specific effects of X-linked genes on social cognition, language, emotional regulation, visuospatial, and numerical skills. Many human X-linked genes outside the X–Y pairing pseudoautosomal regions escape X-inactivation. Dosage differences in the expression of such genes (which constitute at least 15% of the total) are likely to play an important role in male–female neural differentiation, and in cognitive deficits and behavioral characteristics, particularly in the realm of social communication, that are associated with sex chromosome aneuploidies. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Read the full article in the Journal of Neuroscience Research here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jnr.23951/full
Jeanne Wolstencroft 