The Power of a Woman is in Her Brain – Part 1

The brains of men and women are different.  There are particular strengths in the brain of either gender – which makes them equally valuable – but they are definitely different.  And the Power of a Woman is in these brain differences. But Dr. G., you may say.  What is your hardcore evidence that this is true?  Well, I have scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence (after consulting with women over a lifetime of practice as a Naturopathic Doctor and having four daughters and an ex-wife).

In Women, the Hippocampus is generally larger

Research indicates that some parts of the brain are bigger in women than in men.  In women, for example, the hippocampus is generally larger.  The hippocampus is one of the brains’ major memory centres.  Women remember things – or, to be more precise, they don’t forget certain things – especially if the memory is charged with emotion.

I have two examples for you.  The first was when I was married. My wife, with a cross look on her face, confronted me one day saying…do you remember what you said to me on April 5^th, 1982?  I said, “no” and shrugged my shoulders.  “Were we married then?” I had no recollection of the event –  but it had obviously been committed to her memory  because it meant something to her.  How it made her “feel” was bonded to the experience.

If you are a man in relationship with a woman, have you ever forgotten your anniversary, her birthday or, heaven-forbid, Valentine’s Day?  She may have forgiven you (eventually), but did she forget?  And women, be honest, you may have eventually forgiven him, but did you forget? It has been my own personal experience that the answer is “not a snowball’s chance in hell” (I’m Canadian and know about the snow analogy in the context of relationship hell).

She will never forget it!

Here is the second example….

Over my time in practice, and after thousands of patient visits, I recall an incident where I was consulting with a husband and wife. The husband was standing talking in front of me and his wife was sitting behind him but in view.  He was being a bit of a jackass as he was taking verbal jabs at his partner – some of which were mildly hurtful.  After awhile, I said to him, “you really don’t value your sex life, do you?”  He stopped and looked at me with a quizzical look on his face.  I said…”you are talking about your wife right in front of me.  You think it’s funny, but you are being hurtful.  She will never forget it and it will come back to bite you in the ass.” As I said this she was behind him nodding her head vehemently in agreement.

The other area of a woman’s brain that appears to be larger is the Prefrontal Cortex…

The other area of a woman’s brain that appears to be larger is the Prefrontal Cortex (or the PFC) – the so-called executive function or executive control part of brain.  It’s like the CEO of a company.  Its function is to regulate higher brain functions like “focus, forethought, judgement, organization, planning, impulse control and empathy” Now, I am not saying that women have more executive ability than men by virtue of having a bigger PFC (Although there are researchers who hypothesize that women may make better bosses because of it).  It’s what the PFC is composed of that probably makes the difference. It turns out that women have more of a concentration of their white matter in the PFC – the connections to other areas of the brain. It is my personal opinion that this ability to access other areas of her brain may explain why women, in general, have a higher level of empathy – considering others – a superpower if ever there was one – and the ability to access information in other areas of the brain while making decisions.

By 26 weeks, ultrasound can distinguish between male and female brains.

When do these differences begin?  According to science, the differences begin in utero. The sex of the baby is determined at conception – you are either have the sex chromosomes XX or XY.  If a boy asks me …why am I a guy. I say “exactly”.  The Ys have it.  It’s that pesky “Y” that makes all the difference – because the Y chromosome turns on testosterone production between 18 and 26 weeks of gestation.  This testosterone production irreversibly transforms the brain into a male brain.  As a result, by 26 weeks, ultrasound can distinguish between male and female brains. A man literally becomes a man inside a woman.  I think my father told me something to that effect when I was 18 but that is a different discussion!

Men generally have a larger hypothalamus (regulating sexual behaviour) and larger parietal lobes (better spatial perception) I remember the differences this way.  The “H” in hypothalamus stands for “horny” or more sex-driven, and the “P” in parietal means Parking ability.  In other words, men may think about sex when they are parking the car.  (Just kidding.  Men think about sex most of the time – including when they are parking the car).  Women tend to be less chronically-horny or sex-driven than men and might have more trouble parking (without parking assist, of course).

Why does this matter, you ask?  Men and women are generally have equal intelligence overall but they use different parts of the brain to solve problems and achieve goals. This has ramifications for virtually all areas of life – especially health and relationships.

More on this in later Blogs.

In Summary:

1. Testosterone production in the womb is dictated by the Y Chromosome and irreversibly transforms the brain into a male brain by 26 weeks in utero;
2. Women have a bigger Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex. Their brains will retain memories – especially if they have a high emotional content – and have the ability to integrate information from other parts of the brain potentially allowing them to be more empathetic;
3. Men generally have a larger hypothalamus and parietal lobes – which may mean that they are probably thinking of sex while parking the car (My opinion only).

Watch for the next Blog “The Power of a Woman is in Her Brain – Part 2:  “Gray Matter, White Matter, Does it Really Matter?”

Until next time, I am Dr. G, “the Reality Doctor”.