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Differences Between Men and Women (Brain)

1. There are anatomical and functional differences between male and female brains. Females have greater inter-hemispheric connectivity while males have greater intra-hemispheric connectivity. 2. Key brain regions like the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex show sex differences in structure and activation patterns. These regions are involved in emotions, memory, and decision making. 3. Males and females are governed by different primary neurotransmitters and hormones like testosterone, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. Stress impacts levels of these chemicals differently between sexes.

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CLAIRE DENISSE DEVIS
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151 views

Differences Between Men and Women (Brain)

1. There are anatomical and functional differences between male and female brains. Females have greater inter-hemispheric connectivity while males have greater intra-hemispheric connectivity. 2. Key brain regions like the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex show sex differences in structure and activation patterns. These regions are involved in emotions, memory, and decision making. 3. Males and females are governed by different primary neurotransmitters and hormones like testosterone, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. Stress impacts levels of these chemicals differently between sexes.

Uploaded by

CLAIRE DENISSE DEVIS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Differences

Between
Men and Women
(Brain)

1
2
Positron-emission tomography

3
Male vs. female brain anatomy

4
1. Hemisphere differences
• inter-hemispheric connectivity was greater in
women's and girls' brains, whereas intra-
hemispheric connectivity was greater in the brains
of men and boys

5
Brain Functioning, differences:

Male Brains Female Brains


Put feelings aside when making Remember best with emotional
components
decision
Sharing & discussion are most
1 problem at a time important when making a
decision

Separate themselves from the 4x the brain cells connecting the


problem left & right hemispheres(multi
tasking?)

Consider multiple sources of


info
2. Amygdala
• Amygdala is the integrative
center for emotions, emotional
behavior, and motivation.
• Hemispheric Specializations:
– Electrical stimulations of the
right amygdala induced negative
emotions, especially fear and
sadness.
– In contrast, stimulation of the
left amygdala was able to induce
either pleasant (happiness) or
unpleasant (fear, anxiety,
sadness) emotions

7
Amygdala
• Amygdala volume correlates positively with
fearfulness in FEMALES but not in MALES
(adolescence to adulthood).
• Some studies, however, report increased
amygdala activity during the processing of
EMOTIONAL scenes IN CHILDHOOD in men
relative to women (Schienle et al., 2005;
Goldstein et al., 2010).

8
3. Hippocampus

• It plays important roles


in the consolidation of
information from short-
term memory to long-
term memory, and
in spatial memory that
enables navigation.

9
Hippocampus
• Activation of the hippocampus is more
dominant on the left side of hippocampus in
females, while it is more dominant on the
right side in males.

10
Hippocampus
• This in turn influences cognitive reasoning;
women use more verbal strategies than men
when performing a task that requires
cognitive thinking.

11
4. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)

• implicated in the
processing of risk
and fear
– The right VMPC is
more dominant
for males while
the left is more
dominant in
females.
12
A male brain when reading is really only active on
the left hemisphere of the brain, while the
female brain when reading is active on both sides
of the brain.
EMOTIONS
FEMALE
MALE More in touch with their
Uses more of left feelings
hemisphere to direct Greater ability to bond with
emotions to specific others and be empathetic
uses Women are better at human
relations
New Scientific Research: Taken from Dr. John Gray,
Counselor, Author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are
From Venus

Hormones: Husbands and wives bodies are governed by completely different hormones.

Primary Neurotransmitters/Neuromodulators
Husband

Testosterone: Testosterone is low when:


Achievements and accomplishments. Grumpy. Facing problems he cannot solve.
Flexible. Friendly Irritable. Hearing complaints for just 5 min.
Motivation. Desire. Inflexible. Wasting time.
Wants to “save the day”. Moody. Exhausted.
Wants to solve problems, fix things. Depressed. “Fight or flight” syndrome.
Engaged in life. Runs away or ignores issues.

Dopamine: Dopamine is low when:


New and different. Wants to go in his “cave”.
Excitement Gets narrow and focused.
Energy Lack of energy to do anything.
Passion Lack of interest in anything.
Interest, ability to gather information. Wants to conserve energy. “Does it really
Stimulation have to be done.”
Motivation Can’t make a commitment.
Bored with life. Bored with relationships.

Men have minimum 20% more dopamine and 20 to 30 or 40X the testosterone.
Under Stress men and women lose their respective hormones quickly.
New Scientific Research: Taken from Dr. John Gray,
Counselor, Author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are
From Venus
Hormones: Husbands and wives bodies are governed by completely different hormones.

Wife Primary Neurotransmitters/Neuromodulators

Oxytocin: Oxytocin is low when:


Talking, Sharing, Communication. Needs to talk and share.
Cuddling, hugs. “Tend and befriend” syndrome.
Cooperation. “We did it together” Reaches out, seeks help.
Collaboration. Negotiates, moves toward.
Compassion Seeks conversation, commiseration, sharing,
Childbirth. communication.

Serotonin: Serotonin is low when:


Feels Overwhelmed.
Familiarity.
Feels stressed out.
Closeness
Feels like she has to do everything herself.
Intimacy increases seratonin.
Cannot see any solutions to problems.
Resentment “Flu”
Seeks comfort (e.g. eating chocolate)

Men produce serotonin 2x as fast, store 2x as much. Women use 8X faster.


Differences Between Men and Women

Stress
During crisis or stress, men get enjoyable
hormone surges of testosterone, vasopressin,
and serotonin by competing, fighting, or taking
risks. Women do not get this.

Rather, women are more likely to enjoy the


surge of oxytocin they receive from
involvement in conversation or caring
relationships.

17
Differences Between Men and Women

Talking can stress men, De-stress women.


For women, talking through hurtful experiences can be
very helpful and physically comforting because of the
release of oxytocin.
The opposite is true for most men. Such discussions of
emotional experiences can create anxiety and distress.

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Differences Between Men and Women

19
Differences Between Men and Women

Men's Brains Can Take 7 Hours


Longer To Process Emotions

Neurological studies show that men may


take up to seven hours longer than women
to process complex emotional data.

20
Gray, John, 1951-. Men Are from Mars, Women
Are from Venus : a Practical Guide for
Improving Communication and Getting What
You Want in Your Relationships. New York, NY
:HarperCollins, 1992.

21

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