The Physical and Practical Differences Between the Male and Female Brain
Every one of us has a unique brain anatomy that is shaped by a myriad of internal and external factors. However, in general, female and male brains have some key differences in both a structural and a functional sense. Today, we’re delving into what those differences are, and how they affect us.
Structural differences
Brain composition and size
Perhaps one of the more well-known discrepancies between men and women is brain volume. On average, the volume of a male brain is larger than that of a female. However, this difference is often explainable due to overall differences in body size, rather than genetic factors.
Proportionally, female brains typically exhibit a higher proportion of grey matter relative to white matter, whereas male brains show larger quantities of white matter compared to grey matter. This is a significant structural difference that is thought to underlie some of the known functional and processing differences between the sexes.
Corpus Callosum
Another noted difference between the female and male brain has to do with the bundle of nerve fibers that connect the right and left brain hemispheres. Research suggests that the anterior region of the corpus callosum, which is responsible for what’s known as interhemispheric communication, is proportionally larger in females.
This is thought to contribute to heightened communication and connectivity between the two brain hemispheres in women and could influence several cognitive abilities such as language processing and problem-solving.
Functional differences
Patterns of connectivity
In studies, male brains show a greater level of connectivity within individual, localized brain regions. On the other hand, female brains tend to show an enhanced level of overall interhemispheric connectivity, communication, and integration between regions of the brain.
This likely underpins gender-based differences in various cognitive abilities, including emotional processing, social cognition, and spatial navigation.
Right and left hemispheres
Ever heard the saying: “Are you right or left-brained?” Well, there is something to it. Research has indicated that the male brain is generally dominant in the left hemisphere, whereas the female brain is more likely to show more balanced bilateral brain activity. The left hemisphere is associated with language processing and analytical thinking, and the right with intuitive thinking and creativity.
An important final note
Although clear differences have been found between the male and female brains, as we mentioned at the start of the post, no two brains are anatomically identical. In addition, there is still a substantial amount of research yet to be conducted in this domain.
There are also a plethora of environmental and sociocultural influences that affect the way our brains develop over time. Ultimately, there is a huge range of factors that influence our predispositions, behaviors, and more - all of which we explore in our library of brain blogs! Sign up for the newsletter to get all the latest updates!