Gender-Specific Differences Found in Human Brain
Toronto (April 20, 1999) – Men and women’s brains are distinctly different.
While
men have more neurons in the cerebral cortex, the brain’s outer layer,
women have more neuropil, which contains the processes allowing cell
communication.
Research showing these gender-specific differences was presented during the
American Academy of Neurology 51st Annual Meeting April 17 – 24, 1999, in
Toronto.
"The cerebral cortex is responsible for voluntary movements, perception of
sensory input and of highly complex functions such as memory, learning,
reasoning and language," said Gabrielle de Courten-Myers, MD, study author
and associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Cincinnati.
"Males possess more tightly packed and more numerous nerve cells (neurons)
than females. Neurons send and receive electrical signals that influence
many functions of the body and create thoughts and feelings. Females tend
to have more neuropil, the fibular tissue that fills the space between
nerve cell bodies and contains mainly nerve cell processes (synapses,
dendrites and axons) that enable neurons to communicate with numerous other
nerve cells."
This research may explain previous findings that women are more prone to
dementing illnesses than are men. Although a man and woman may lose the
same number of neurons due to a disease, such as dementia, the woman’s
functional loss may be greater because the cells lost are more densely
connected with other neurons. Added de Courten-Myers, "Conversely, in
males, the ‘functional reserve’ may be greater as a larger number of nerve
cells are present, which could prevent some of the functional losses."
Although these gender-specific variations cause tangible differences in how
the brain functions, one type is not "better" or "worse" than the other.
Said de Courten-Myers, "It seems reasonable to assume that specific
functions may benefit from the presence of more cells while others may be
enhanced by a larger number of connections between them. A better
understanding of these issues may potentially affect a wide spectrum of
human activities such as health care, psychology and teaching."
The researchers measured the cortex thickness and counted nerve cells from
various sites within the healthy brains of 17 deceased subjects (10 males
and seven females).
"The recognition of gender-specific ways of thinking and feeling – rendered
more credible given these established differences – could prove beneficial
in enhancing
interpersonal relationships." Said de Courten-Myers, "However, the
interpretation of the data also has the potential for abuse and harm if
either gender would seek to construct evidence for superiority of the male
or female brain from these findings."
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 15,000
neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving
patient care through education and research.
1999 American Academy of Neurology
<http://www.aan.com/public/newsreleases/gender.htm>
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