Posted on 04/22/2006 7:21:36 AM PDT by CrawDaddyCA
MEN and women are from the same planet, but scientists have the first strong evidence that the emotional wiring of the sexes is fundamentally different.
An almond-shaped cluster of neurons that processes experiences such as fear and aggression hooks up to contrasting brain functions in men and women at rest, the new research shows.
For men, the cluster “talks with” brain regions that help them respond to sensors for what’s going on outside the body, such as the visual cortex and an area that co-ordinates motor actions.
For women, the cluster communicates with brain regions that help them respond to sensors inside the body. These areas tune in to and regulate women’s hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and respiration.
Study co-ordinator Larry Cahill said: “Throughout evolution, women have had to deal with a number of internal stressors, such as childbirth, that men haven’t had to experience. What is fascinating about this is the brain seems to have evolved to be in tune with those different stressors.”
The findings, which were published in the recent issue of the journal NeuroImage, could help researchers learn more about sex-related differences in anxiety, autism, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The study focused on activity in the amygdala, a cluster of neurons found on both sides of the brain and involved for both sexes in hormone and other involuntary functions, as well as emotions and perception.
Mr Cahill already knew that the sexes use different sides of their brains to process and store long-term memories, based on his earlier work. He also has shown that a particular drug, Propranolol, can block memory differently in men and women.
Mr Cahill and his co-author Lisa Kilpatrick scanned the brains of 36 healthy men and 36 healthy women. The subjects were told to relax with their eyes closed during the scan, so that differences between the sexes could be studied at rest rather than during ‘heavy lifting’ such as accessing memories.
The scans also showed that men’s and women’s amygdalas are polar opposites in terms of connections with other parts of the brain. In men, the right amygdala is more active and shows more connections with other brain regions. In women, the same is true of the left amygdala.
Scientists still have to find out if one’s sex also affects the wiring of other regions of the brain. It could be that while men and women have basically the same hardware, it’s the software instructions and how they are put to use that makes the sexes seem different.
It looks like on men
the wires come out the side, but
out the back on gals . . .
One shudders to think what Hillary's brain would look like...
Well, yeah, those differences are "obvious", but this study is looking for empirical data to explain why.
Correlates with the well-known sex difference in spatial visualization. Maybe related to the preponderance of males in engineering, where "what's going on outside the body" and not internal sensations, is all that matters.
Harvard feminazis, the president's office is holding on line one...
FABulous graphic.
I've seen SOMEthing like this before.
Wonderful graphic also....and true. Tsk. Sad, but true.
This one is funny. I love the on/off feature for PMS control.
The upper portion looks like control systems that Gulf Coast people used to think Alabama cars were supplied with in the 60s and 70s. Florida cars had brake pedals, gearshifts, and accelerators. Alabama cars just had that one switch, and sometimes a steering wheel.
In the hot, humid weather of the South, the fewer things to rot, the better.
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