Doctor: This is the ‘wild’ difference between male and female brains – and why women are healthier, better at decisions and less likely to go to jail
- Dr Daniel Amen revealed the top differences between male and female brains
- The psychiatrist discussed prefrontal cortexes, predisposition to illness
A top psychiatrist has revealed one of the biggest differences between male and female brains.
Dr Daniel Amen, a brain specialist from California, studied over 200,000 SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) scans to ascertain the key disparities between men and women.
Women have healthier and busier brains, Dr Amen explained, which means they go to jail 14 times less than men do.
The difference is largely due to women having much healthier activity in their prefrontal cortex which is responsible for forethought, judgement, impulse control, organisation, planning, empathy, and learning from the mistakes you make.
Despite the increased activity, women are also more likely to suffer depression than men.
Dr Daniel Amen [pictured], a brain specialist from California, studied over 200,000 SPECT scans to ascertain the key disparities between men and women
Dr Amen spoke to Lisa Bilyeu, co-founder of Quest Nutrition, about the key differences between male and female brains.
‘Females generally have healthier brains, they’re busier brains,’ he said. ‘The limbic part of their brain is very busy – which puts them at a higher risk for depression,’ he said in a video.
However, women have stronger frontal lobes which is an indicator of better decision making.
‘Women go to jail 14 times less than males,’ the psychiatrist said.
Bilyeu was quite shocked by the revelation.
‘Is it because [women] are able to assess a danger or the consequence more than a guy?’ she asked, to which the psychiatrist agreed.
Dr Amen spoke to Lisa Bilyeu, co-founder of Quest Nutrition, about the differences between male and female brains
Dr Amen also went on to explain that a woman’s additional predisposition to empathy and care negatively impacts her lifespan.
‘Married men live longer than single men, but not only do married women live shorter lives than single ones, they also die sooner,’ Bilyeu said.
The psychiatrist revealed that men live longer because they have a woman caring for them.
‘A man will live longer because [his wife] makes him go to the doctor and she yells when he’s texting and driving.’
What are the differences between men’s and women’s brains?
The Male Brain
- 10 per cent larger than female brains
- Optimised for motor skills
- Men rely on directions and distance travelled
- More likely to develop alcohol dependence
- 40% more likely to develop schizophrenia
The Female Brain
- Stronger and healthier pre-frontal cortex
- Optimised for intuitive thinking
- Women rely on landmarks when navigating
- Twice as likely to have mental illnesses like depression
- Twice as likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder
Sources: Dr Amen, The Scientific American, Northwestern Medicine
‘But women [have shorter life spans] because of the chronic stress from men.’
Dr Amen advised that the only way to level the playing field would be if women started taking care of themselves more.
‘For example, if you’re on a plane, and the cabin pressure goes down, you need to put your own mask on first.’
He added, ‘Women don’t do that. I have seen women take care of everybody else and they don’t take care of themselves.’
Key differences in the brain of males vs. females 🧠 (from findings of over 200,000 brain SPECT scans) #fyp #foryou #mentalhealth
Many were amazed by Dr Amen’s findings and how males and females differ innately.
‘I didn’t know there was an actual physical difference in the brain!’ one woman wrote. ‘I always thought differences were explained by hormones.’
‘This makes so much sense, and it’s so important to educate people.’
‘Thank you for this invaluable knowledge, this is so informative.’
But some were sceptical of the findings.
‘Measuring blood flow differences between brains doesn’t necessarily correlate with higher or lower performance in cognitive certain skills.’
‘Things aren’t so clear cut, this is trying to explain complicated processes away.’
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