PREVIOUS: M/F BRAINS #7

SITE: “Are male and female brains really different?“

Some SKILLS
F: tend to have more fully developed organizational skills, combining analytical & intuitive thinking.

M: are faster to absorb information, & are optimized for motor skills, so they react faster.  EXP: If a male sees a ball on the ground, he’ll probably kick it, while a woman is more likely to pick it up
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M: tend to have better spatial abilities. Because they have a thinner parietal region of the brain than women, it’s easier for them to visualize rotating 3D objects

F: find it harder to mentally rotate objects – because of a thicker parietal region of the brain (More.…)

Research has shown that babies as young as 5 months can visualize an image, negating any idea these abilities were created by environmental influences
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M: better at the exact sciences. They’re geared slightly more toward math because of much larger inferior-parietal lobules (IPL) which is thought to influence visual perception, math & geometry ability

PS: The IPL is the area of Einstein’s brain discovered to be abnormally large. Brain areas thought to control these skills mature in boys about 4 years earlier than in girls

F: better at the social sciences. The IPL also processes sensory information, & the larger right side in women allows them to focus on specific stimuli, such as a baby crying in the night (IMAGE ▲)
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Even at 24 hours after birth gender differences emerge:
M : the male brain is adapted for understanding & building systems.
EXP: Male infants look longer at inanimate mobiles, & later gravitate to action toys

F : the female brain is adapted to ’empathy’
EXP: Female infants look longer at faces, & later gravitate to dolls

In other research, vasopressin in women increased peace-making behavior, & both oxytocin & vasopressin caused them to treat computer partners more like humans.
In men, vasopressin increased reciprocation of cooperation from both human & computer partners.
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M: Male rats and male humans are more likely to navigate by dead reckoning – knowing which way is north, east, south and west.
F: Female humans are more likely to navigate through landmarks – go up to this 7-11, turn left…..

SENSES:

TEMPERATURE
F: One study shoved that women’s performance on math & verbal tests is best at higher temperatures (More.…)
M: while men perform best on the same tests at lower environmental temps

SIGHT
F: Better at distinguish between subtle shades of primary colors
M: Far more likely to have some form of color blindness, usually genetic (rarely in women).
BUT are better able to pick up on sudden movements & identify rapidly changing images

TOUCH
In general – smaller fingers have a finer sense of touch (tactile acuity), with more closely spaced sensory receptors to pick up a wider variety of external stimulii. Research indicates it’s fingertip size, not gender that makes the difference. Because women usually have smaller hands, they’re better at distinguishing surfaces than most men, but men with small fingertips are just as discerning.

HEARING
M : Male hearing is weaker, in general. They’re 5 1/2x more likely to lose their hearing (may be partly from things like smoking, noise exposure & cardiovascular risk factors)

F : Women hear sounds that men can’t. At all ages, they have better hearing at frequencies above 2,000 Hz, but with age, are less able than men to hear low frequencies (1,000 to 2,000 Hz)

SMELL
Women smell things better that men. On average, they have 43% more cells & almost 50% more neurons in their olfactory centers than males. (Originally it may have helped women choose the best mates for reproduction)

TASTE
Women tend to have more sensitive palates, with more taste buds. About 35% are “supertasters,” identifying flavors such as bitter, sweet & sour more intensely than others. (Only 15% of men are).
Also, women of childbearing age have stronger taste-sensitivity than younger or older ones, especially during pregnancy.

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