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Research conducted at the Indiana University School of Medicine may help resolve an age-old dilemma between the sexes. Men listen with only one side of their brains, while women use both, according to information on brain imaging presented at the 86th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
The study may add fuel to the females’ argument, but researchers say the findings don’t address whether women are better listeners than men.
Joseph T. Lurito, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology at IU School of Medicine said:
Our research suggests language processing is different between men and women, but it doesn’t necessarily mean performance is going to be different, we don’t know if the difference is because of the way we’re raised, or if it’s hard-wired in the brain.
In the study, 20 men and 20 women underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to a passage from The Partner, a John Grisham novel. A majority of the men showed exclusive activity on the left side of the brain, in the temporal lobe, which is classically associated with listening and speech. The majority of women showed activity in the temporal lobe on both sides of the brain, although predominantly on the left. The right temporal lobe traditionally is associated with non-language auditory functions.
“As scientists, we’re figuring out what normal is, and more and more often it seems we’re finding that normal for men may be different than normal for women,” said Michael Phillips, M.D., assistant professor of radiology and co-author of the study. “That doesn’t mean one is better or more capable than the other.”
The finding may help with research regarding how men and women recover from stroke and brain tumours, said Dr. Lurito. It also may help guide brain surgeons in avoiding certain areas of the brain, depending on whether they’re operating on men or women, he said.
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Posted by Jonathan in Anthropology, Biology