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Emotional Wiring Different in Men and Women
Men and women are actually from the same planet, but scientists now have the first
strong evidence that the emotional wiring of the sexes is fundamentally different.
An almond-shaped cluster of neurons that processes experiences such as fear and
aggression hooks up to contrasting brain functions in men and women at rest, the new
research shows.
For men, the cluster "talks with" brain regions that help them respond to sensors for
what's going on outside the body, such as the visual cortex and an area that coordinates
motor actions.
For women, the cluster communicates with brain regions that help them respond to
sensors inside the body, such as the insular cortex and hypothalamus. These areas tune in
to and regulate women's hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and respiration.
"Throughout evolution, women have had to deal with a number of internal stressors, such
as childbirth, that men haven't had to experience," said study co-author Larry Cahill of
the University of California Irvine. "What is fascinating about this is the brain seems to
have evolved to be in tune with those different stressors."
The finding, published in the recent issue of the journal NeuroImage, could help
researchers learn more about sex-related differences in anxiety, autism, depression,
irritable bowel syndrome, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The new study focused on activity in the amygdala, a cluster of neurons found on both
sides of the brain and involved for both sexes in hormone and other involuntary
functions, as well as emotions and perception. Cahill already knew that the sexes use
different sides of their brains to process and store long-term memories, based on his
earlier work. He also has shown that a particular drug, Propranolol, can block memory
differently in men and women.
Cahill and his co-author Lisa Kilpatrick, scanned the brains of 36 healthy men and 36
healthy women. The subjects were told to relax with their eyes closed during the scan, so
that differences between the sexes could be studied at rest rather than during heavy lifting
like accessing memories.
The scans also showed that men's and women's amygdalas are polar opposites in terms of
connections with other parts of the brain. In men, the right amygdala is more active and
shows more connections with other brain regions. In women, the same is true of the left
amygdala.
Scientists still have to find out if one's sex also affects the wiring of other regions of the
brain. It could be that while men and women have basically the same hardware, it's the
software instructions and how they are put to use that makes the sexes seem different.
Elaborative Rehearsal Opportunity
1. (In the 2nd paragraph) We know the “almond-shaped cluster of neurons that
processes experiences such as fear and aggression” as _________________.
2. (In the 3rd paragraph) The “area that coordinates motor actions” would likely be a
combination of our ______________ lobe and our ________________.
3. Based on the article, we know that women experience more communication
internally with structures, such as the hypothalamus, while men do not. How do
the Right and Left Amygdala differ by gender?
Men:_____________________________________________________________
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Women:__________________________________________________________
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4. How might an evolutionary psychologist interpret the information from question
3?
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