Study: There is no male or female brain

[Underverse]

http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-beh...nt-study-finds

So in the new study, researchers led by Daphna Joel, a behavioral neuroscientist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, tried to be as comprehensive as possible. Using existing sets of MRI brain images, they measured the volume of gray matter (the dark, knobby tissue that contains the core of nerve cells) and white matter (the bundles of nerve fibers that transmit signals around the nervous system) in the brains of more than 1400 individuals. They also studied data from diffusion tensor imaging, which shows how tracts of white matter extend throughout the brain, connecting different regions.

The team found a few structural differences between men and women. The left hippocampus, for example, an area of the brain associated with memory, was usually larger in men than in women. In each region, however, there was significant overlap between males and females; some women had a larger or more male-typical left hippocampus, for example, while the hippocampus of some men was smaller than that of the average female.

So how to explain the idea that males and females seem to behave differently? That too may be a myth, Joel says. Her team analyzed two large datasets that evaluated highly gender stereotypical behaviors, such as playing video games, scrapbooking, or taking a bath. Individuals were just as variable for these measures: Only 0.1% of subjects displayed only stereotypically-male or only stereotypically-female behaviors.

“There is no sense in talking about male nature and female nature,” Joel says. “There is no one person that has all the male characteristics and another person that has all the female characteristics. Or if they exist they are really, really rare to find.”

I find this to be pretty interesting and a confirmation of the idea that the gender binary is a social construct that is largely not reflected in biology. Some traits may be found more often in males, while others may be found more often in females - but there's enough overlap that broad generalizations cannot reasonably be made.

I do wonder if these observations will be adapted for our conception of human sexuality as well; males and females share quite a few physical traits, and the mostly binary orientation system we like to assume doesn't really account for this.

[Independent voter]

Even if male and female brains are 99.9% alike, the magic is in that 0.1% It's like humans and chimps share 99% of DNA.

[StayTuned]

Our brain might be constructed the same way, but I don't see the researcher talking about how this connects to the way we behave. Having two regions of the same size doesn't necessarily mean that both regions work exactly the same...

[Rukh]

Even if male and female brains are 99.9% alike, the magic is in that 0.1% It's like humans and chimps share 99% of DNA.

Only if youre doing your best to separate people, but why should we do that

[Revi]

I mean, we already knew there was huge overlap. Stereotypes are by definition generalizations, and seems to hold true here.

And I dare say there's too much we don't know about how the brain works and manifests in consciousness to make any claims about how similar we are mentally based on how similar images of our brains look.

[Underverse]

Our brain might be constructed the same way, but I don't see the researcher talking about how this connects to the way we behave. Having two regions of the same size doesn't necessarily mean that both regions work exactly the same...

They did talk a bit about behavior:

So how to explain the idea that males and females seem to behave differently? That too may be a myth, Joel says. Her team analyzed two large datasets that evaluated highly gender stereotypical behaviors, such as playing video games, scrapbooking, or taking a bath. Individuals were just as variable for these measures: Only 0.1% of subjects displayed only stereotypically-male or only stereotypically-female behaviors.

[StayTuned]

They did talk a bit about behavior:

talking about how this connects to the way we behave.

They said there's a study. Notice how I asked where the proof is that behavior is related to brain structure, and that having the same brain structure will automatically produce the same behavior.

[I Push Buttons]

They seem to have missed the whole biological imperative thing that makes men attracted to women and women attracted to men so they bang and produce more humans. Obviously there are some differences there or primitive humans wouldn't have perpetuated our species...

[Underverse]

They said there's a study. Notice how I asked where the proof is that behavior is related to brain structure, and that having the same brain structure will automatically produce the same behavior.

We know that behavior is related to brain structure. We also know that connections within the structure are important. I don't think the argument is being made that structure is the only thing that affects behavior, based on this evidence. This is, at its core, a correlative study, not a causative one, but it's not making any causative claims.

[Reeve]

I think differences are as likely or more likely to be hormonal in nature, rather than neurological.

[Kuntantee]

Gender difference probably affects how dendrites and axons grow. There probably is male and female brain.

[Mistame]

I think differences are as likely or more likely to be hormonal in nature, rather than neurological.

Was going to say something similar. Most behavioral stuff is hormonally/chemically triggered.

[Moralgy]

http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-beh...nt-study-finds






I find this to be pretty interesting and a confirmation of the idea that the gender binary is a social construct that is largely not reflected in biology. Some traits may be found more often in males, while others may be found more often in females - but there's enough overlap that broad generalizations cannot reasonably be made.

I do wonder if these observations will be adapted for our conception of human sexuality as well; males and females share quite a few physical traits, and the mostly binary orientation system we like to assume doesn't really account for this.

I was wondering when this thread would come up, and I am pleasantly surprised it was started by someone that actually kinda read the study.

[GodlyBob]

Anything and everything in nature is a spectrum. I think that is the single thing from biological sciences that most people have a hard time wrapping their head around. We try to find patterns, and better yet, dichotomies to organize things easier. There's only men and women, and each are characterized by x, y, and z. You're either homosexual or heterosexual. There's us and there's them. There's a lot more nuance in the world than many people like to acknowledge, and then we have some individuals who perpetuate cultural norms as an absolute normative while at the same time denouncing the very notion of social sciences and culture.

In other words, we are some interesting little critters.

[Deleted]

http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-beh...nt-study-finds






I find this to be pretty interesting and a confirmation of the idea that the gender binary is a social construct that is largely not reflected in biology. Some traits may be found more often in males, while others may be found more often in females - but there's enough overlap that broad generalizations cannot reasonably be made.

I do wonder if these observations will be adapted for our conception of human sexuality as well; males and females share quite a few physical traits, and the mostly binary orientation system we like to assume doesn't really account for this.

Hey Quetzl, there's still a shortage of air traffic controllers. Since women are no different than men, maybe you could educate them for us?

[GodlyBob]

Hey Quetzl, there's still a shortage of air traffic controllers. Since women are no different than men, maybe you could educate them for us?

Is...is the joke that it's ridiculous to think that a woman could do the job?

[Deleted]

Is...is the joke that it's ridiculous to think that a woman could do the job?

There are always exceptions to the rule.

Society needs to invest in men much more, but because you want to have sex with women, you will lie to them.

[Malachi256]

No one looks a pile of hard drives and other computer parts and determines they're all the same by gross examination. The important differences between male and female brains are in the wiring, and yes, sex hormones play a huge role in this.

[GodlyBob]

There are always exceptions to the rule.

Society needs to invest in men much more, but because you want to have sex with women, you will lie to them.

Ohhh, the joke is a caricature of people who don't understand biology. I get it now =D

[Frogguh]

If there is no difference, then that sort of blows transgender theory out of the water.