Many of
you know that I do research and speak on gender based differences in
communication. There is always a nature vs nurture discussion. This research is
interesting as it debunks research on brain differences between genders that many people have
quoted for years. Using MRI volumes of male and female brains and also Meta Analysis of 76 published papers"The team's findings challenge the common claim that a disproportionately larger hippocampus explains females' tendency toward greater emotional expressiveness, stronger interpersonal skills, and better verbal memory." It will be interesting to how researchers in the field discuss this challenge to long held beliefs about what causes gender differences.
Date: October 29, 2015 Source: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Summary:A research study has debunked the
widely-held belief that the hippocampus, a crucial part of the brain that
consolidates new memories and helps connect emotions to the senses, is larger
in females than in males.
Many people believe there is such a thing as a 'male
brain' and a 'female brain,'" Dr. Eliot said. "But when you look
beyond the popularized studies -- at collections of all the data -- you often
find that the differences are minimal."
Credit: © Tyron Molteni / Fotolia
Lise
Eliot, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at the university's medical
school, headed a team of students in a meta-analysis of structural MRI volumes
that found no significant difference in hippocampal size between men and women.
Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows researchers to combine the
findings from many independent studies into a comprehensive review. The team
examined findings from 76 published papers, involving more than 6,000 healthy
individuals.
"Sex
differences in the brain are irresistible to those looking to explain
stereotypic differences between men and women," said Dr. Eliot. "They
often make a big splash, in spite of being based on small samples. But as we
explore multiple data sets and are able to coalesce very large samples of males
and females, we find these differences often disappear or are trivial."
Hippocampi
are located on both sides of the brain, under the cerebral cortex. The team's
findings challenge the common claim that a disproportionately larger
hippocampus explains females' tendency toward greater emotional expressiveness,
stronger interpersonal skills, and better verbal memory.
"Many
people believe there is such a thing as a 'male brain' and a 'female
brain,'" Dr. Eliot said. "But when you look beyond the popularized
studies -- at collections of all the data -- you often find that the
differences are minimal."
The
study appears in the journal NeuroImage.
Meta-analyses
by other investigators have also disproved other purported sex differences in
the brain, Dr. Eliot noted. There is no difference in the size of the corpus
callosum, white matter that allows the two sides of the brain to communicate,
nor do men and women differ in the way their left and right hemispheres process
language.
Story
Source:
The
above post is reprinted from materials provided by Rosalind
Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Note: Materials
may be edited for content and length
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
