The brains of women and that of men are two different worlds. There are no doubts. But research has confirmed what we have always known deep down. The ladies 'one is more active than the boys' ones
The brains of women and that of men are two different worlds. There are no doubts. But research has confirmed what we have always known deep down. The ladies 'one is more active than the boys' ones.
Not a feminist movement says it but the largest functional brain imaging study conducted to date. Researchers from Amen Clinics in Newport Beach, California, compared 46.034 images obtained using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), provided by 9 clinics. The target? Quantify the differences between the two sexes in the brain by examining blood perfusion.
Images acquired from subjects at rest or while performing various cognitive tasks showed the blood flow different in specifications brain regions. Subjects surveyed also included 26.683 patients with a variety of psychiatric conditions such as brain trauma, bipolar, mood, schizophrenia / psychotic disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 128 brain regions were analyzed both at rest and while performing a concentration task.
It was clear that the female brain was significantly more active in many areas than the male one, especially in the prefrontal cortex, an area responsible for impulse control, among others. The limbic or emotional areas, linked to mood and anxiety, are also more active. Men win when it comes to the visual and coordination centers of the brain, in this case more active.
The following image is a lateral view of the brain summarizing the blood flow results of tens of thousands of the study subjects: the increased blood flow in women compared to men is highlighted in the colored areas of the brain: the cingulate cortex and the precuneo. The men in this image have increased blood flow in the blue colored areas: the cerebellum.
Understanding these differences is important because brain disorders affect men and women differently. The women have significantly higher rates of Alzheimer's disease, depression, which itself is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and anxiety disorders, while men have higher rates of ADHD and conduct-related problems.
"Precisely defining the physiological and structural basis of gender differences in brain function will help us learn more about Alzheimer's" he said dr. George Perry, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, who published the study.
And on the occasion of World Alzheimer's Day, the study sheds new light on this unpredictable and disabling disease.
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Francesca Mancuso
