We’ve all heard that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but now a new study has shown that men and women could be more different than we previously thought.
The research, conducted by the University of California, concluded that male and female brains could be wired completely differently.
Paul Macey, lead author on the paper, says the objective of the study was to measure the effect of blood pressure change on brain activity, but instead they came across the surprising discovery.
During the trials, which were using MRI scans to observe the brain, it was observed that the front right part of the insular cortex is inherently different in both genders.
The insular cortex has five main parts – with the front right area playing a “critical” part in brain function and in particular, experience of emotions.
When participants had their blood pressure raised (by blowing into a tube) there was a completely opposite response in the male and female’s front right insular cortex.
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Macey said: “This raises several questions for us, such as why is there a difference in brain pattern and might it reflect differences in health issues for men and women, particularly in cardiovascular disease variations.”
It is possible that psychological stress means that this area in women’s brains is already activated so when the tests were conducted, it could not activate any further.
However, Macey says it is also plausible that this region is just wired differently in both genders.
The team concluded that the impact of this study cannot be underestimated in evaluating health issues and treatment between men and women.
