Male and Female Brain Differences?

Research on Lack of Differences in Male and Female Brains

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

A research study at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science 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.

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.

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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.

Early Stress Effects Children’s Brains and is Linked to Depression

Early Stress Effects Children’s Brains and is Linked to Depression

Many of you know that I am interested in helping foster children and foster and adoptive parents. This research study as several others I have been reading recently discuss how stress in the early life effects the brain and may diminish the processing of the reward centers of the brain. One of the other studies I have looked at indicates that if you can get children into a healthy parenting home by the age of two the children can recover.  When I was trained to be Foster Parent they said children over the age of ten where "unadoptable." They think they are hopeless. I just can’t let myself believe that is true. Here is the research that should motivate all of us to help children get into healthy loving homes as soon as possible.

Date: October 29, 2015  Source:Elsevier

Summary: Early life stress is a major risk factor for later episodes of depression. In fact, adults who are abused or neglected as children are almost twice as likely to experience depression. Scientific research into this link has revealed that the increased risk following such childhood adversity is associated with sensitization of the brain circuits involved with processing threat and driving the stress response. More recently, research has begun to demonstrate that in parallel to this stress sensitization, there may also be diminished processing of reward in the brain and associated reductions in a person's ability to experience positive emotions. 

The researchers focused on the ventral striatum, a deep brain region that is important for processing rewarding experiences as well as generating positive emotions, both of which are deficient in depression.

Credit: © markobe / Fotolia 

Early life stress is a major risk factor for later episodes of depression. In fact, adults who are abused or neglected as children are almost twice as likely to experience depression.

Scientific research into this link has revealed that the increased risk following such childhood adversity is associated with sensitization of the brain circuits involved with processing threat and driving the stress response. More recently, research has begun to demonstrate that in parallel to this stress sensitization, there may also be diminished processing of reward in the brain and associated reductions in a person's ability to experience positive emotions.

Researchers at Duke University and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio looked specifically at this second phenomenon in a longitudinal neuroimaging study of adolescents, in order to better understand how early life stress contributes to depression.

They recruited 106 adolescents, between the ages of 11-15, who underwent an initial magnetic resonance imaging scan, along with measurements of mood and neglect. The study participants then had a second brain scan two years later.

The researchers focused on the ventral striatum, a deep brain region that is important for processing rewarding experiences as well as generating positive emotions, both of which are deficient in depression.

"Our analyses revealed that over a two-year window during early to mid-adolescence, there was an abnormal decrease in the response of the ventral striatum to reward only in adolescents who had been exposed to emotional neglect, a relatively common form of childhood adversity where parents are persistently emotionally unresponsive and unavailable to their children," explained first author Dr. Jamie Hanson.

"Importantly, we further showed that this decrease in ventral striatum activity predicted the emergence of depressive symptoms during this key developmental period," he added. "Our work is consistent with other recent studies finding deficient reward processing in depression, and further underscores the importance of considering such developmental pathways in efforts to protect individuals exposed to childhood adversity from later depression."

This study suggests that, in some people, early life stress compromises the capacity to experience enthusiasm or pleasure. In addition, the effect of early life stress may grow over time so that people who initially appear resilient may develop problems later in life.

"This insight is important because it suggests a neural pathway through which early life stress may contribute to depression," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "This pathway might be targeted by neural stimulation treatments. Further, it suggests that survivors of early life trauma and their families may benefit from learning about the possibility of consequences that might appear later in life. This preparation could help lead to early intervention."

Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

1.    Jamie L. Hanson, Ahmad R. Hariri, Douglas E. Williamson. Blunted Ventral Striatum Development in Adolescence Reflects Emotional Neglect and Predicts Depressive Symptoms. Biological Psychiatry, 2015; 78 (9): 598 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.05.010

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Elsevier. "Early life stress and adolescent depression linked to imp



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.

4 Tricks For Getting Rid of Your Nerves and Appearing More Confident In A Job Interview

I was interviewed by Business Insider for my insights on job interviewing and how you can get rid of nerves and what you can do to appear more confident. See my tips highlighted in yellow below.  A link to the actual article is below.

4 tricks for getting rid of your nerves and appearing more confident in a job interview

Hope Restle

Business Insider - Careers

Aug. 25, 2015, 4:00 PM

CityYear/Flickr

A few simple mind tricks could combat any nervous habits.

There are endless telltale signs of nervousness at work or in a job interview: profuse sweating, rapid blinking, stammering, and the list goes on. But the good news is, there are ways to combat those signals and "hide" your anxiety. 

Body language experts say the trick is to distract your mind and focus on things that don't make you nervous.

Here are five tricks for doing just that:

1. Recall a memory that inspires positive emotions.

One simple way to quell feelings of nervousness is to momentarily transport yourself to a time in which you felt self-assured and at ease. You can do this just before entering the room, or during the interview itself.

"Think of a time on the job, or in your personal life, when you experienced a success ... Notice how you feel, tell yourself that story, feel those emotions and merge those positive emotions with the new story of your job interview success," says Patti Wood, body language expert, coach, and author of "Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma."

"We create and experience stories in the emotional right hemisphere of our brain," she explains. "When we recall and retell these stories, we re-experience the feelings that accompany them. By using this merging technique, you can bring positive emotions and success into any situation."

2. Create a secret gesture that corresponds to positive experience.

To take trick No. 1 one step further, Wood suggests creating your own personal gesture that's associated with a positive experience you've had in your life. (This works well if you don't have a specific memory in mind to think back to.)

Wood says she once worked with a client who couldn't think of a positive scenario that would help him relax during a job interview, so she told him to recall the emotions he felt during an activity or situation he enjoyed — in this case, sailing.

Mustering up these positive emotions, they worked to create a body movement — placing his hand on the side of his leg — that would jog his memory of the contentment and confidence he felt while sailing.

The next time he felt nervous during a job interview, briefly placing his hand on his leg activated those positive feelings, she says.

CityYear/Flickr

Focus on being interested, not interesting.

3. Silently repeat a mantra.

Another way to calm yourself is to silently repeat a personal mantra, says Dr. Lillian Glass, behavior analyst, body language expert, and author of "The Body Language of Liars." A pacifying message will work well when you're wrapped up in your own anxiety. "You can tell yourself to relax, that everything will be just fine," she explains.

Cater to your own suspense-driven emotions and conceptualize a message that works best, whether it's more soothing or upbeat. When you're feeling overwhelmed, silent reassurance — whether it's that you will accomplish your goals, or just that you'll get through this stressful situation — will bring your mind back to a more tranquil state.

4. Be interested, not interesting.

One major flaw people make while trying to ensure a good first impression — during a job interview or otherwise — is trying too hard to appear interesting, while disregarding what the other person has to say.

"Be interested in what the other person is saying," says Glass. "Focus on being interested, not interesting."

Once you stop obsessing over what intelligent or witty thing to say next, and actually concentrate on the conversation at hand (not just your end), you'll have an easier time navigating the discussion, and less of a chance of getting lost in your own thoughts — which can make anyone extremely nervous.

Actual Link to Article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-appear-more-confident-during-a-job-interview-2015-8


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.

Body Language Read of Gerard Butler and Morgan Brown

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.

Hillary Clintons’ Body Language and Voice During the Benghazi Hearings.

What Hillary Clinton’s Body Language and Voice during the Benghazi Hearings Can Teach Us About Emotion and Perception

By:  Patti Wood MA, CSP

What was Hillary’s "Listening Face” showing us? And how a female voice is "heard" as being more emotional than a man’s voice. 

I was asked to read Hillary's listening face for Poppy Harlow’s show on CNN. I analyzed six hours of video as well as video from her previous hearing and stills that the media used to report on both events. Though my segment was bumped for a press conference about the massive flooding in Texas, I thought I would share what we can learn from a listening face.  Whether you love her or hate her you may be fascinated to see how different she was and to note how the media portrayed her. 

Here is one of the videos that I read:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/10/22/hillarys-listening-face-during-the-benghazi-hearings-origwx-allee.cnn/video/playlists/most-popular-domestic/

Clinton had to make a considered choice of what her listening face would be during the hearings.

There are gender differences in how emotions are perceived. The men questioning her were often loud, raging and abusive.  I have seen powerful men in her hot seat be loud and raging and defensive right back.  Being aggressive did not serve her well the last time she was questioned about Benghazi and she chose overall to be self-contained. It’s fascinating that many of the editorials have called her cold and uncaring. 

If she had been too emotional, or specifically, too angry in response to questions she would have been seen as a raging woman. Let’s be frank, as a women, she couldn't yell back without being called the “b” word. If she appeared too upset as key information about the attacks was shared, she would have been seen as an overly emotional woman.

Her “listening face” is often a "Cover Smile,” with her lips tightly pressed together and the edges in this case turned down at the corners ever so slightly. A cover smile is an attempt to cover true emotional state; her cover smile is slightly turned down at the corners.  If you look at the four stills I pulled whatever you may think of her as a candidate, she did a great job of being neutral.

Look at her photos:

  

I think the head resting on her hand is more to contain her feelings.  She is not bored as the media has portrayed her. She is calm outwardly and inside trying not to laugh at their behavior.

Men actually use cover smiles more often than women, and the turn down at the corners is more extreme and if you look at the eyes and the rest of the face you can typically see the emotion they wish to "Cover." See the photos here from my story on men's cover smiles.  Hillary has upturned full cheeks, her chin is up, along with her tight smiles are more sardonic. She is covering amusement or motherly frustration with their histrionics.

Read my story on men's cover smiles here:  http://www.pattiwood.net/article.asp?PageID=11722 

I would love to say something about her voice. For years we have heard her voice and I know I have thought it often high and shrill but it was not high and shrill during this testimony. She was very careful through much of the testimony to bring the register of her voice down.  This helped her tremendously. Men hear a female voice in a different section of their brain than they do a male voice. They actually hear a female voice in the auditory section of their brain (emotional) so when a man hears female voices they hear it as more emotional than a man's voice. 

The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between women and men, and also due to women having greater natural `melody´ in their voices. This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice. What is interesting is that when a man hears a female voice the auditory section of his brain that is in his emotional right hemisphere is activated so he hears the voice as being more emotional rather than rational. Female voices sound more emotional to men than their own based purely on where they are processed in his head!!

Notice how you perceive the emotions of men versus women not only in political candidates, but also in your daily life. 

Here is a related article of mine on 

"Lying, the Body Language Mouth Cues, Cover Smile"          

This is an expression I call the cover smile. Yes, most people who give this expression believe they are covering their true emotions with a smile. They are giving out many cues that say what they are truly feeling, but they really believe they are doing a good job fooling you and perhaps deceiving themselves in the process. Of course the dog is just being cute, that video of him with the Chi Wawa was a set up. He will tell you all about what really happened in his Oprah interview. Here are the tips so you can learn how to uncover the lies of a cover smile.

This cover smile with lips pressed tightly together is typically found in men and I think comes from the need to keep a “stiff upper lip.” This is the expression described when someone is smiling through the pain. And their true pain as this set of body language cues shows is an attempt to hide many intense emotions of sadness, fear and anger. I see it in men who typically have very strong egos and power that are caught and brought down. They have spent their lives covering up their true emotions. 

There are several photos above of this expression in former Governor Blagojevich. Look at his chin. See the puckering of the skin. You see that puckering in babies the moment they are about to let a big ole cry. And that is what he would like to be doing, but he has to keep that in. In these photos I am not seeing true sadness, just the desire to cry out. True sadness would be visible with more of a pout, downward pull of the mouth and more puckering around the eyes. The muscles around the inner eyebrow are hard to consciously control.

If you look at the photo below you will see how Paula Deen’s inner eyebrows pull together and curl up. (They would pull more, but she may have had Botox or the muscle cut during plastic surgery.)

Congressman Wiener’s expression is a suppressed fear, disgust and anger. If you cover up his mouth and look at just his eyes you will see the whites around his eyes and his sideways glance, and wrinkled nose of disgust. The wrinkled nose is a unique movement of the face given in disgust. Symbolically it says I don’t like how this smells and physically it is an attempt to stop the flow of air and odor into the nose. If I knew exactly when he gave that expression, I could tell you whether he was disgusted with himself for what he did or disgusted with the media at a particular question of bringing his behavior to light. The wrinkled, upraised chin and tight lips show the suppression of two emotions fear and anger.

Spitzer also has a cry cover smile. His chin is more raised and more defiant and proud and more of the bottom lip is raised and held inside the mouth. The corners of the mouth come down significantly in a way that is more common to this expression showing his need to smile through the pain. Cover his mouth and you see his eyes are more hooded downwards at the corners and sad. You can also compare it to Paula Deen’s and you can see more wrinkle and pull in his eyebrows. This combination reminds me of the classic sad clown painted face.

 

To train yourself to read the cover smile start watching for it on TV. If you want to chuckle while you do it you can watch the characters of Modern Family who often hide their irritation with a cover smile. Here is a funny twist on the cover smile that shows in the character on the left how it can show light irritation and playfulness.

 

My clients in my speaking and consulting business ask me what it is like to be able to read people. Oddly I often think of this expression when they ask, because when you see behind the smile to the true heart of a person you often see their joy, their inner child and pain. The next time you see someone smiling through the pain, you can be compassionate and see the truth of their heart.

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.