Male and Female Brains Differ in Architecture and ActivityFurther Research Can Lead to SexSpecific Treatments for Brain Disorders



April 25, 2005 -- A century old debate on whether the male and female brains possess innate differences was recently reignited by Harvard University president, Lawrence Summers. The May 2005 issue of Scientific American features "His Brain, Her Brain", an in-depth article on the innate differences of male and female brains differ in "an astonishingly array of structural, chemical and functional variations."

As highlighted in this article, recent research indicates that previously held beliefs that the male and female brains only differed in mating behaviors, sex hormones and the hypothalamus. In fact, many recent research findings that indicate that the sex of an individual may influence behavior, memory, emotions, vision, hearing, and brain's response to stress hormones. In addition, the article details how these variations between the male and female brains may raise the possibility of sex specific treatments for conditions such as depression, addiction, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Even though neuroscientists are far from putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, the recent research indicates that sexual differences in the brain go beyond the hypothalamus and mating behavior.

To read this article visit www.sciam.com/features
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About the Author
Larry Cahill received his Ph.D. in neuroscience in 1990 from the University of California, Irvine. After spending two years in Germany using imaging techniques to explores learning and memory in gerbils, he returned to U.C. Irvine, where he is now an associate professor in the department of neurobiology and behavior and a Fellow of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

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Male and Female Brains Differ in Architecture and ActivityFurther Research Can Lead to SexSpecific Treatments for Brain Disorders