Introduction:
Even though there are many similarities between women and men, they also have differences in behaviors and health risks. Women are more prone to develop several mental health conditions like depression, whereas men have more chances of developing neurological disorders like autism spectrum disorder (a developmental disorder due to differences in the brain resulting in problems with social communication, learning, paying attention, and moving). Research over more than 2000 brain scans revealed gender changes in the volume of several regions in the human brain. Research also states that sex differences in the volume of several regions in the brain are also seen in animals.
What Is the Significance of the Brain?
The brain is a vital component of the central nervous system. The brain is composed of two types of cells called glial cells and neurons. The neurons are in charge of sending and receiving nerve signals. The glial cells provide support and nutrition and facilitate the transmission of signals in the nervous system. The brain receives, processes, and interprets all the sensory information received through sight, taste, smell, sound, and touch. The brain also controls memory, speech, thoughts, movements of arms, legs, and many other organs of the body.
What Are the Parts of the Brain?
The three main parts of the brain are as follows:
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Cerebrum: The cerebrum constitutes a major portion of the brain and is responsible for interpreting sound, sight, and other senses. The cerebrum also controls learning, judgment, and reasoning skills. The cerebrum is divided into two sections - the right and left cerebral hemispheres. The right hemisphere is in charge of controlling the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere is in charge of controlling the right side of the body.
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Cerebellum: The cerebellum comprises a small part of the brain that is placed at the back side of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movements and maintaining posture and balance. It plays an important role in initiating a person’s ability to perform repetitive and rapid actions like playing a video game.
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Brain Stem: The brainstem is the portion that lies at the bottom of the brain and acts as an extension connecting the brain to the spinal cord. The brainstem plays a significant role in regulating involuntary body functions like breathing, heart rate, and sleep-wake cycles. It also regulates reflexive activities like sneezing, tears production, coughing, and vomiting.
What Are the Differences in the Brains of Males and Females?
The differences seen between the male and female brain are as follows:
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Size: The size of the male brain is about ten times larger than that of the female brain. However, the size difference does not create an impact on intelligence. The brain weight of males is almost 9.8 percent more than the female brain. The region of the brain associated with judging speed, estimating time, and solving mathematical problems is larger in males when compared to females.
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Grey Matter and White Matter: Grey matter is the outermost layer of the brain and is present in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. Grey matter plays a vital role in retaining memories, controlling movements, and regulating emotions, thus facilitating the normal functioning of the body. White matter is seen in the deeper tissues of the brain and consists of a group of nerve fibers and nerve cells. White matter helps in enhancing the transmission and speed of information and nerve signals along the different regions of the brain. Research suggests that gray matter content inside the brain is more in women when compared to men. However, during pregnancy, gray matter content decreases in females. Researchers suggest that women make more use of white matter than gray matter, whereas men use more gray matter. It is the reason for men excelling at task-focused projects while women excel at multitasking and language skills.
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Brain Processing Patterns and Brain Chemistry: Studies conducted on connections within the brain have shown that women have stronger side-to-side connections, whereas men tend to have stronger front-to-back brain connections. The stronger side-to-side connections in women improve the skills of analyzing, intuitive thinking, and drawing conclusions. The stronger front-to-back connections in men are responsible for stronger motor skills (skills that enable everyday movements and tasks) and increased perception. Even though women and men have the same neurochemicals (chemical messengers that carry signals from one nerve cell to the target cell) in the brain, differences are seen in the processing of these neurochemicals. For example, even though serotonin (neurochemical), which is associated with happiness and depression, is present equally in both male and female brains, it is processed differently in women. This is the reason behind women being more susceptible to depression and anxiety.
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Health Risks: Variations in genetic makeup are related to a high risk of developing health problems. Depression and anxiety, which are commonly seen more in women, can lead to other serious health issues like stroke (disturbance in the blood supply to the brain leading to brain damage). Researchers believe that some relation exists between hormones like estrogen and testosterone in causing certain health conditions. The female brain is prone to develop health conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and depression twice as much as males. Females are also more likely to develop multiple sclerosis (a disorder in which the immune system attacks the covering of nerve fibers leading to communication problems between the brain and other parts of the body). The male brain is more prone to develop alcohol dependence when compared to female brains. Males are three times more prone to develop antisocial personality disorder (a mental disorder in which a person does not respect the feelings and rights of others). Four times more prone to develop autism, and two times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, a disease of the nervous system characterized by nerve cell damage and movement-related problems, than females.
Conclusion:
Research shows that gender-related differences are present both in the whole brain images and specific brain regions. So, these gender-based structural differences in the brain are responsible for gender differences in the emotional aspects and neurological disorders. Hence developing a clearer understanding of gender differences in the organization of the human brain through more research is very important to establish the gender-related differences in psychiatric illness and behavior.
