Do you understand your partner’s behaviors less and less every day? Are men and women really that different? In 2006, the American neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine published her book She is the author of two books: The Female Brain , and The Male Brain (published in 2010). The female brain where she explained that women’s behavior is different from that of men due to their hormonal differences. Psychologist Daniel Goleman, guru of Emotional Intelligence, commented on the book that it was “a fresh and illuminating guide to women, and essential reading for men.” Given the success obtained, the author published the sequel in 2010: The male brain.
Main differences between the male and female brain
The results of both investigations reveal to us that every brain begins as female brain It only becomes male eight weeks after conception, when excess testosterone (the king of male hormones) shrinks the communication center, shrinks the hearing cortex, and doubles the part of the brain that processes sex.
About him women’s brain It is concluded that their hippocampus (brain structure involved in memory) is larger, as are the brain circuits for language and observing the emotions of others. (Women express emotions better and remember details of emotional events better.) In addition, his brain has outstanding mental agility, the ability to become deeply involved in friendship, an almost magical ability to read faces and tone of voice in terms of emotions and moods, and great skill in defusing conflicts. Female self-esteem is based on their ability to maintain loving relationships with others, since women use both sides of the brain to respond to emotional experiences, while men only use one side. A biological example: Rhesus monkeys learn to vocalize long before males and use each of the seventeen vocal tones of their species all day long to communicate with each other. In contrast, male rhesus monkeys learn only three to six tones and, as adults, allow days or even weeks to pass without vocalizing them at all. Does it sound familiar to you?
For his part, the men’s brain, has two and a half times more brain space dedicated to the sexual impulse, the same as the more developed brain centers for action and aggression. Boys generally use language to give orders to others, get things done, show off, threaten, ignore a partner’s proposal, and crush others’ attempts to speak. Your self-esteem is based on your ability to remain independent of others. Despite what has been said, the stereotype of a stoic and unemotional man is contradicted by research that shows the dedication and devotion of the brain of the father and the mature man. Hormonally the mature male brain is more similar to the mature female brain; Men may be more receptive to oxytocin (the hug and affection hormone). As men’s testosterone levels decline, “winning and losing” may become less relevant in favor of cooperation. (High testosterone = motivation to gain status and individual competition; Low testosterone = motivation to cooperate with others and intergroup competition.).
Therefore, there are notable differences between the two sexes in the social mechanisms and the brain units involved. Female sociability (which is more affiliative) is more closely related to the volume of the neocortex, while male sociability (which is more competitive and combative) is more related to subcortical units (those associated with emotional responses).
Conclusion
We are almost oblivious to the underlying, almost hidden work that the various genes, neurochemicals and hormones play. If men and women, parents and teachers, started from a better understanding of our male and female brains, how they are formed, how they are modeled in childhood and how they come to see reality during adolescence and beyond, we could create more realistic expectations for both. Much of the conflict that exists between men and women is due to the inability to understand these innate differences, the tendencies of their brains and their physical responses to the hormones that condition their natural impulses and the way they think, feel and communicate.
The good news is that despite these biological conditions, neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine concludes that brain architecture is not set in stone at birth or at the end of childhood, as previously believed, but rather continues to change throughout life< Instead of being immutable, our brains are much more plastic and changeable than scientists believed a decade ago. The human brain is also the most ingenious learning machine we know of. So the culture and behavioral principles that are instilled in us significantly influence the modeling and remodeling of the brain. Thus, education, experience and environment can exert a lasting behavioral and biological influence through epigenetic changes introduced into DNA.
In conclusion, and despite these small differences There are more things that make us similar to men and women than those that differentiate us and never forget that it is always possible to learn, unlearn and relearn.
Explanatory video about the differences between the brain of women and men
This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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