Posted on 02/08/2005 3:02:00 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Canadian researchers examining the speed at which the brain works found a secondary discovery -- the male brain works slightly faster than a female one.
The difference in brain speed between the genders -- not the main purpose of the study -- was highlighted in a report in Thursday's Toronto Star.
One of the study's findings was that in men's brains, messages travel four per cent faster than in women's brains.
Researchers examined nerve conduction velocity (NCV) -- the speed at which messages are transmitted between brain cells -- for the study which will be published in the academic journal, Intelligence.
The study's lead author is Edward Reed, professor emeritus in anthropology and zoology at the University of Toronto. The other authors are Phillip Vernon and Andrew Johnson, two psychology professors at the University of Western Ontario.
They stress that their discovery does not mean men are smarter -- and that the difference in gender reaction times is minimal.
". . . the small sex difference that we reported (4 per cent) was secondary to the purpose of the study (which was to attempt to replicate an earlier report by the first-author)," Vernon wrote in an email to CTV.ca.
"Had we conducted the study with younger participants it is possible (likely) that girls would have shown faster NCVs than boys," added Vernon.
"Finally, a difference as small as 4 per cent is unlikely to yield any meaningful differences in cognitive abilities (which is probably why the vast majority of previous studies have found no sex differences in general intelligence)."
The study tested 186 males and 201 females between the ages of 18 and 25.
"It's been known for some decades more intelligent people have faster reaction times," Reed told The Star.
"Brain nerve conduction velocity is an important component in how rapidly we think and this can contribute to being more or less intelligent. If that speed is very low you're going to think slowly. If it's faster, you'll think faster."
Reaction
Canadian feminist Doris Anderson told the Star that the issue of gender differences in the brain is "one of those perennial questions that keep popping up."
"I think there may be a difference between male and female brains. Girls talk earlier. Boys develop different motor skills. But I think an awful lot of the difference between male and female is taught to them," said Anderson to the Star.
Dr. Ruth King from York University's Dept. of Women's Studies told CTV.ca:
"Why is this on the front page? I mean, it's a study that's not been published yet and there's not enough information given for me to say anything beyond the fact that it seems to be part of this general fascination with alleged sex differences."
A man goes into a brain store, sees a sign, Republican brains $3.98/lb. Another sign Democratic brains, $39.95/lb. He asks, "How come Democratic brains are so much more?" The answer; "Do you know how many Democrats we have to kill to get a pound of brains?"
Of course we have to think faster, we have far more excuses to make and we need them QUICK!!! lol
For the guys, then why is it your girlfriend or wife can always remember when you did something that was stupid, dumb, hateful, uncaring, unthoughtful, or the last time you just wanted to go out with the boys and you and I can't? I guess it must be wiring.
Morbid, but funny.
The problem usually begins when the blood necessary for 99 percent of the male brain's functions are diverted to support another organ's function, which happens all too frequently.
The lead author is a professor in zoology?.....There's a joke here somewhere.
Only when the wife is out of the room?
I can think of another male part that works faster than the corresponding female part.
Obviously !
We men are able to process thoughts without having to verbalize them first.
Drats..another failed attenpt at drollery on my part..
This might explain why there have been relatively few race car drivers that were female and far fewer successful ones. A 4% advantage in reaction time adds up over the course of a race.
We only think faster because we don’t have to remember everything that ever happened, who was there, what they said, and what they were wearing. Our data searches only cover: sex, alcohol, sex, sports, sex, tv remote location, and last but not least sex.
The brain function of a woman goes into warp speed at the main doors upon entering any shopping mall.
Which male brain?
Yes, and after thousands of years of drooping breasts, it took a MAN to conceive (and construct) the design for the bra.
Leave it to the psychology professor to make a scientifically ridiculous statement. If he wanted to broach that subject, a more proper statement would have been something along the lines of, "Since we didn't test younger subjects, we can draw no conclusions as to the relative NCV of males and females in other age ranges."
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