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7/28/2019 He Brains She Brains Article http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/he-brains-she-brains-article 1/3 He Brains, She Brains Bigger - Stronger - Faster...are there really any differences between female brains and male brains? Differences between the brains of men and women have generated considerable scientific and public interest. If there are differences in the way that men and women behave, then it is reasonable to suppose that their brains have something to do these behavioral differences. Just what are these differences and where in the brain might these differences be located? For hundreds of years, scientists have searched for differences between the brains of men and women. Early research showing that male brains were larger than female brains was used to "prove" that male brains were superior to female brains. Of course, this "proof" is NOT so simple and straight forward as you will see. Nevertheless, even today, there is plenty of controversy about the differences in the brains of men and women. Not only from an anatomical point of view, but also from a functional point of view - in other words, just what do the differences in the brains mean? Hormones that are present during a baby's development will affect the brain and determine whether the brain will be female or male. Studies that have looked at differences in the brains of males and females have focused on: 1. Total Brain Size 2. The Corpus Callosum 3. The Hypothalamus Differences in Total Brain Size?  Almost all studies show that at birth, a boy's brain is bigger than a girl's brain. At birth, the average brain of boys is between 12-20% larger than that of girls. The head circumference of boys is also larger (2%) than that of girls. However, when the size of the brain is compared to body weight at this age, there is almost no difference between boys and girls. So, a girl baby and a boy baby who weigh the same will have similar brain sizes. In adults, the average brain weight in men is about 11-12% MORE than the average brain weight in women. Men's heads are also about 2% bigger than women's. Remember though, men on average weigh more than women and that absolute brain size may not be the best measure of intelligence. Many behavioral differences have been reported for men and women. For example, it has been said that women are better in certain language abilities and men are better in certain

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Page 1: He Brains She Brains Article

7/28/2019 He Brains She Brains Article

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/he-brains-she-brains-article 1/3

He Brains, She Brains

Bigger - Stronger - Faster...are there really any differences between female brains and male

brains? Differences between the brains of men and women have generated considerable scientific and public interest. If 

there are differences in the way that men and women behave, then it is reasonable to suppose that their brains have

something to do these behavioral differences. Just what are these differences and where in the brain might these

differences be located?

For hundreds of years, scientists have searched for differences between the brains of men and women.

Early research showing that male brains were larger than female brains was used to "prove" that male brains were

superior to female brains. Of course, this "proof" is NOT so simple and straight forward as you will see. Nevertheless,

even today, there is plenty of controversy about the differences in the brains of men and women. Not only from an

anatomical point of view, but also from a functional point of view - in other words, just what do the differences in the brains

mean?

Hormones that are present during a baby's development will affect the brain and determine whether the brain will be

female or male. Studies that have looked at differences in the brains of males and females have focused on:

1. Total Brain Size

2. The Corpus Callosum

3. The Hypothalamus

Differences in Total Brain Size?

 Almost all studies show that at birth, a boy's brain is bigger than a girl's brain. At birth, the

average brain of boys is between 12-20% larger than that of girls. The head circumference of boys is also larger (2%)

than that of girls. However, when the size of the brain is compared to body weight at this age, there is almost no

difference between boys and girls. So, a girl baby and a boy baby who weigh the same will have similar brain sizes.

In adults, the average brain weight in men is about 11-12% MORE than the average brain weight in women. Men's heads

are also about 2% bigger than women's. Remember though, men on average weigh more than women and that absolute

brain size may not be the best measure of intelligence. Many behavioral differences have been reported for men and

women. For example, it has been said that women are better in certain language abilities and men are better in certain

Page 2: He Brains She Brains Article

7/28/2019 He Brains She Brains Article

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spatial abilities. Many studies have tried to find differences in the right and left cerebral hemispheres to suggest that male

and female brains are different. However, few of these experiments have found meaningful differences between men and

women. If fact, there are many similarities between the cerebral hemispheres of men and women.

Brain Weights

Data from Dekaban, A.S. and Sadowsky, D., Changes in brain weights during the span of human life: relation of brain

weights to body heights and body weights, Ann. Neurology, 4:345-356, 1978)

Differences in the Corpus Callosum?

The major pathway that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres is called

the corpus callosum. (The corpus callosum is the fiber tract made up of 200-250 million axons that is cut in split brain

patients.) Some claims have been made that the corpus callosum is bigger and more developed in women than in men.

These claims have even been reported in the popular media (Time Magazine, Jan. 20, 1992, pp. 36-42; Newsweek 

Magazine, March 27, 1995, pp. 51). However, other studies have told a different story. Using magnetic resonance imaging

methods, some researchers have found no differences in the size of the corpus callosum of men and women or that the

corpus callosum is larger in men than in women (Allen et al., 2003).

Differences in the Hypothalamus?

The hypothalamus is one area of the brain with well-documented differences between men and women. Two areas of the

hypothalamus, the preoptic area and the suprachiasmatic nucleus, have clear differences in female and male brains.

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