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Viveladiffrence!|TheEconomist

Sexandbrains

Viveladiffrence!
Anewtechniquehasdrawnwiringdiagramsofthebrainsofthetwosexes.The
contrastbetweenthemisilluminating.

Dec7th2013| Fromtheprintedition
MENandwomendonotthinkinthesame
ways.Fewwoulddisagreewiththat.And
sciencehasquantifiedsomeofthose
differences.Men,itisprettywellestablished,
havebettermotorandspatialabilitiesthan
women,andmoremonomaniacalpatternsof
thought.Womenhavebettermemories,are
moresociallyadept,andarebetteratdealing
withseveralthingsatonce.Thereisalotofoverlap,obviously.Butonaveragethese
observationsaretrue.
Suggestingwhytheyaretrueinevolutionarytermsisagameanyonecanplay.Oneobvious
ideaisthatbecause,inthedaysofhuntingandgathering,menspentmoretimewandering
awayfromcamp,theirbrainsneededtobeadaptedtoabletofindtheirwayaround.They
alsospentmoretimetracking,fightingandkillingthings,betheyanimalsorintrusive
neighbours.Womenbycontrast,politickedamongthemselvesandbroughtupthechildren,
sotheyneededtobeadaptedtoenablethemtomanipulateeachothersandtheirchildrens
emotionstosucceedintheirworld.
Findingoutwhysexdifferencesaretrueinneurologicaltermsinotherwords,howthe
brainiswireduptocreatethemisanothermatteraltogether.Toplaythisgameyouhaveto
havealotofexpensivekit,notjustacomfortablechairfromwhichtopontificate.Andthatis
exactlywhatRaginiVermaoftheUniversityofPennsylvaniaandhercolleaguesdohave.As
aresult,astheyoutlineintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences,theyhave
beenabletomapoutdifferencesinthewaysmaleandfemalebrainsarecabledandmatch
them,atleasttotheirownsatisfaction,tothestereotypesbelovedofbothfolkloreand
psychology.
Sugarandspiceorpuppydogstails?
Neurologyhasbeenrevolutionisedoverthepastcoupleofdecadesbyarangeoftechniques
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thatcanscanlivingbrains.DrVermastechniqueofchoiceisdiffusiontensorimaging.This
followswatermoleculesaroundthebrain.Becausethefibresthatconnectnervecellshave
fattysheaths,thewaterinthemcandiffuseonlyalongafibre,notthroughthesheath.So,
diffusiontensorimagingisabletodetectbundlesofsuchfibres,andseewheretheyare
going.
DrVermaandherteamappliedthetechniqueto428menandboys,and521womenand
girls.Theirresultsaresummarisedinthetwodiagramsabove,whichshowconnectiontrends
averagedfromthesumofparticipantsbrains.
Thetwomainpartsofahumanbrainarethecerebrum,aboveandtowardsthefront,which
doesthethinking,andthecerebellum,belowandtowardstheback,whichdoestheacting.
Eachisdividedintorightandlefthemispheres.Asthediagramsshow,inmen(thelefthand
picture)thedominantconnectionsinthecerebrumarethose,markedinblue,within
hemispheres.Inwomen,theyarethose,markedinorange,betweenhemispheres.Inthe
cerebellum(notvisiblebecauseitisunderthecerebrum),itistheotherwayaround.
Whatthismeansisopentointerpretation,butDrVermastakeisthatthewiringdifferences
underliesomeofthevariationsinmaleandfemalecognitiveskills.Theleftandrightsidesof
thecerebrum,inparticular,arebelievedtobespecialisedforlogicalandintuitivethought
respectively.Inherview,thecrosstalkbetweentheminwomen,suggestedbythewiring
diagrams,helpsexplaintheirbettermemories,socialadeptnessandabilitytomultitask,allof
whichbenefitfromthehemispherescollaborating.Inmen,bycontrast,withinhemisphere
linksletthemfocusonthingsthatdonotneedcomplexinputsfrombothhemispheres.
Hencethemonomania.
Whenitcomestothecerebellum,theextracrosslinksbetweenhemispheresinmenserveto
coordinatetheactivityofthewholesuborgan.Thatisimportantbecauseeachhalfcontrols,
byitself,onlyonehalfofthebody.Hencemenhavebettermotorabilitiesor,inlaymans
terms,arebettercoordinatedthanwomen.
DrVermasothermainfindingisthatmostofthesedifferencesarenotcongenital.Rather,
theydevelopwithage.Hervolunteersrangedfrom8to22yearsold.Thebrainsofboysand
girlsaged8to13demonstratedonlyafewdifferences,thoughallwereofthetypethatlater
becamepronounced.Adolescents,thoseaged13to17,showedmore.Youngadults,over17,
morestill.Sexdifferencesinbrainsthosevisibletothistechnique,atleastthusmanifest
themselvesmainlywhensexitselfbeginstomatter.
DrVermasworkisimportantnotonlyforwhatithasshown,butalsoasademonstrationof
thepowerofdiffusiontensorimaging.Studyingthebrain,particularlythelivingbrain,isa
uniquelyhardscientificproblem.TheAmericangovernmenthasrecentlypromisedtospend
seriousamountsofmoneydoingso,throughwhatitdubstheBRAINinitiativethe
inevitablecontrivedacronymsupposedlystandingforBrainResearchthroughAdvancing
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InnovativeNeurotechnologies.
Asthatnamesuggests,advancesinbrainresearchdependonthedevelopmentofbetterways
oflookingatbrainswhiletheyarealiveandfiring.Thiswillbehard.ButworklikeDr
Vermasshowstherewardsofdoingit.

Fromtheprintedition:Scienceandtechnology

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