Are Men’s and Women’s Brains Different?

If you’ve ever wondered whether there are actual differences in how men’s and women’s brains work, researchers finally have the answer.

 

 

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that yes, there are key structural differences in the brains of men and women.

 

The study was conducted on 949 young people between the ages of 8 and 22. An MRI was used to scan the brain of each male and female.

 

Here are the results: women have more connections between their left and right cerebral hemispheres, whereas men have more connections within these hemispheres.

 

Interestingly, the opposite was found in brain maps of the cerebellum (an area of the brain responsible for motor control), with males showing greater connectivity between the left and right hemispheres, and women showing more connectivity within hemispheres.

 

This research may explain tendencies of men to have better motor skills and do better when completing single tasks, and of women to excel in the areas of multitasking and problem solving.

 

The study also discovered a significant brain difference in participants between the ages of 13.4 and 17 years old, “suggesting that sexes begin to diverge in the teen years.”

 

However, it’s important to keep in mind that these differences are based on averages, and they don’t necessarily apply to each male and female. According to Ragini Verma, study leader and associate professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania medical school, “every individual could have part of both men and women in them.”