Male and Female Brains

I was online one day, Skyping a few of my guy friends, when we entered an interesting subject. “Why do women act so different from us?” said one of my friends, Michael. “It’s like they are a different species. They think so differently. Girls are weird.” He was then met with several nodding head and short agreements from the other guys.

This made me think long and hard. Do men and women’s brains differ so greatly? Researchers have discovered that male and female brains are extremely similar for the most part, however, there are some structural and chemical differences that may cause the two genders to get annoyed with one another.

According to brainfitnessforlife.com there are several differences between the genders. The male brain is typically about ten percent larger than the female brain. Although the extra mass does give males more processing power, this doesn’t make men more intelligent. Rather, science believes the reason for the increased brain mass is to accommodate the bigger body mass and muscle groups of the male

Many men are sharply left-brain dominant, while women tend to be more evenly balanced between left and right-brain processing. Women are therefore thought to be slightly more intuitive, and sometimes better communicators. Men are often less socially adept, and are more task-oriented thinkers than females.

Women are purported to have better communication skills and emotional intelligence than men. Women tend to be group-oriented, and apt to seek solutions by talking through issues. Men can have trouble picking up on emotional cues unless they’re clearly verbalized

Women often excel at language-based tasks for two reasons: two brain areas that deal with language are larger in females, and females process language in both hemispheres while males favor a single brain half.

Since women tend to have a larger deep limbic system then men, they’re more in touch with their feelings and are better at expressing their emotions. This makes women better at connecting with others, but unfortunately also more prone to different types of depression.

However, evidence provided by psychologytoday.com says our hormones are the same. They function the same ways and we all have the same hormones. there are no “male” or “female” hormones. There is some important variation in hormone levels and patterns, and there are some differences in how the hormones interact with male and female bodies.

On average, men tend to have a higher resting levels of testosterone, and females may have higher levels of certain reproductive hormones like Follicle Stimulating Hormone or Estradiol. However, these same reproductive hormones also work in men and are involved in the process of sperm production.

So no, we aren’t a different species. We are all slightly different, but that makes us unique. We are both human with outstanding potential.

FSA Connection Questions:

  1. Why are women more in touch with their feelings?
  2. What hormone do men have more of?
  3. What are the two reproductive hormones women have, listed in the article?
  4. What part of the brain is larger in females?
  5. How do you feel on the subject? Do you think the chemical differences in the brain make the genders too different?