Neuroscience of sex differences

Neuroscience of sex differences is the study of the characteristics of the brain that separate the male brain and the female brain. Psychological sex differences are thought by some to reflect the interaction of genes, hormones and social learning on brain development throughout the lifespan.

Some evidence from brain morphology and function studies indicates that male and female brains cannot always be assumed to be identical from either a structural or functional perspective, and some brain structures are sexually dimorphic.

Experts note that neural sexual dimorphisms in humans exist only as averages, with overlapping variabilities, and that it is unknown to what extent each is influenced by genetics or environment, even in adulthood.

Ideas of differences in the male and female brain circulated during the time of ancient Greek philosophers around 850 B.C. Aristotle claimed that males did not "receive their soul" until 40 days post-gestation and females did not until 80 days. In 1854, Emil Huschke discovered that "the frontal lobe in the male is all of 1% larger than that of the female." As the 19th century progressed, scientists began researching sexual dimorphisms in the brain significantly more. Until around 21 years ago, scientists knew of several structural sexual dimorphisms of the brain, but they did not think that gender had any impact on how the human brain performs daily tasks. Through fMRI and PET scan studies, a great deal of information regarding the differences between male and female brains and how much they differ in regards to both structure and function has been uncovered.

It is thought that male and female differences in learning ability have contributed to sexual selection and mate preference throughout evolution. The hippocampus has even been found to exhibit seasonal activity in some mammals where it is active during breeding periods but inactive during hibernation; this is because spatial learning is more present during the breeding season.

...
Wikipedia