Notable Differences Between the Brains of Men and Women

It looks like some of the gender stereotypes may be in at least part supported by science.  According to an article on webmd.com (some links and excerpts below), women are wired to be better in language and men's brains are better designed for math and science.  However this seems to be a developmental issue.  That is, a female's brain development in areas of math and science apparently tend to be 4 years behind males.  Conversely, the males are apparently six years behind females in the development of language-related areas.  Obviously this is all very general, and there are always exceptions.  And certainly this does not mean that all women are 4 years behind men in the areas of math and science.  It sounds like we all more or less catch up.  It seems that men are slower to get there in terms of language, and women are slower to get there in terms of math and science.  And it seems that may have something to do with physical differences between the genders in terms of our brains.  I find this all extremely fascinating.

Certainly none of this is to say that women are not good at math or science or that men are not good at language skills.  That is obviously not true.  But it is all still very interesting.

What are some of your experiences with learning math/science vs language, for yourself or for someone you know?  What sort of tendencies have you seen that seem to be gender-based?




http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ

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Consider these recent findings. Researchers, using brain imaging technology that captures blood flow to "working" parts of the brain, analyzed how men and women process language. All subjects listened to a novel. When males listened, only the left hemisphere of their brains was activated. The brains of female subjects, however, showed activity on both the left and right hemispheres.

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Researchers concluded that when it comes to math, the brain of a 12-year-old girl resembles that of an 8-year-old boy. Conversely, the same researchers found that areas of the brain involved in language and fine motor skills (such as handwriting) mature about six years earlier in girls than in boys.

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http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ?page=2

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"Women are faster and more accurate at identifying emotions," says Ruben Gur, PhD, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Studies have shown women to be more adept than men at encoding facial differences and determining changing vocal intonations.

Women, as a whole, may also be better than men at controlling their emotions. Gur and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania recently discovered that sections of the brain used to control aggression and anger responses are larger in women than in men.

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http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ?page=3

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Some researchers believe that nurturing one's brain can enhance what nature has provided. Consider, for instance, the general superiority of males' spatial abilities. "There's a lot of evidence that we build up our brain's representation of space by moving through it," Denckla tells WebMD. As anyone who spends a significant time around children knows, boys tend to get a lot more practice "moving through space" -- chasing a ball, for instance -- than girls do. "My hypothesis is that we could possibly erase this difference if we pushed girls out into the exploratory mode," Denckla says. She predicts that as more and more girls engage in sports traditionally reserved for boys, like soccer, the data on spatial ability will show fewer disparities between females and males.

Others believe brain variations between sexes are for the best. "Most of these differences are complementary. They increase the chances of males and females joining together. It helps the whole species," Gur says.

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