Gender Differences in Brain Wiring Connectomes. Arlene R. Taylor PhD Brain References

Transcription

1 Gender Differences in Brain Wiring Connectomes Arlene R. Taylor PhD Brain References

2 Conflict Conflict happens everywhere and it Is expensive Home: contributes to illness, disease, stress, violence, addictions, divorce, murder... Schools and churches: burns out personnel and triggers misunderstandings... Workplace: managers spend 18% of their time managing employee conflicts... US State News; August 19, 2006

3 Conflict Between Gentlemen cartoon Punch Magazine 1853

4 Contributors Two main contributors to conflict involve: Low levels of Emotional Intelligence or EQ Successful managers tend to have high levels of EQ, while less successful managers often have high IQ but low EQ Misunderstanding of gender brain differences Learning about gender brain differences and practically applying what you learn can minimize cross-gender conflict

5 Gender Differences Are represented by the foundational layer on the Who I Am Pyramid Gender differences are here to stay You can collaborate and have fun with them or be frustrated/miserable Who I Am Pyramid

6 Typical Gender Differences Psychological and behavioral testing have consistently indicated differences between male and female abilities to perform specific tasks Males typically outperform females in some tasks and females generally outperform males in others although some females outperform some males and some males outperform some females These studies have resulted in a number of generalizations

7 Bell-Curve of Distribution Researched conclusions are often presented as bell-curve generalizations that typically apply to about 2/3 of the population Of the remaining 1/3, some people resemble the data even more closely and some less closely Exceptions reflect individual uniqueness and do not invalidate the research Sometimes there are more differences within a gender than between them

8 Diffusion Tensor Imaging Diffusion Tensor Imaging or DTI is a new brain-scanning technique that measures the flow of water along a nerve-axon pathway Axon This outlines the path of myelinated axons that facilitate the long-range conduction of electro-chemical signals part of the brain's white matter, higher amounts may be found in the right cerebral hemisphere and in the corpus callosum

9 DTI Results Create a Connectome A connectome is a neural map that shows whether and how one region of the brain is physically connected to another region DTI studies have established the level of connectivity between nearly 100 regions of the brain no surprise, they have shown significant differences in connectivity patterns between male and female brains Ragini Verma and Rubin Gur Pennsylvania University

10 Male Brain Connectome Most of the connections in a typical male brain run between the front and the back of the same side of the brain The only part of the brain where left-right connectivity was greater in males (than in females) was in the cerebellum that is linked with motor control

11 Male Brain Connectome This could account for better: Spatial skills Motor (muscle) control Map reading Direction finding Vehicle driving Translating perception to motor skills as in some sports

12 Female Brain Connectome More of the connections in a typical female brain run from side to side between the left and right hemispheres of the brain Female brains showed many more Interconnections than In the male brain especially between the left and right frontal lobes of the brain

13 Female Brain Connectome This could account for better: Verbal skills Intuitive abilities Memory test results (recalling words and remembering faces) Social cognition test results (attempting to measure empathy and EQ skills)

14 Connectome Comparison Ragini Verma PhD Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences

15 Energy Expenditures If any part of the brain is on it s all on so takes more energy to run second for second Metaphorically, spends more time on the highway due to corpus callosum size and brain style Two hemispheres are somewhat independent one idles while the other works so it takes less energy to run overall Metaphorically, spends less time on the highway

16 Emotions Joy is aligned with the L. Hemisphere Usually language is loaded in the L. Hemisphere regardless of handedness Tend to talk-out and express emotions Three protective emotions (anger, fear, sadness) are aligned with the R. Hemisphere Tend to act-out their emotions

17 Driving Fewer accidents per miles driven Less skillful drivers overall More tentative/cautious in driving style tend to see better at night 14% more accidents per miles driven More skillful drivers overall... Tend to act out emotions in exhibition of speed tend to see better in daylight

18 Gender and Language Tend to start a discussion by asking a question Speak a language of connection and suggestion Female speech contains an underlying metamessage More likely to just answer a question than ask one Speak a concrete and directive language Male speech has no underlying metamessage

19 Coming To a Conclusion When faced with a decision, it takes about the same amount of time for male and female brains to come to a conclusion they get there very differently Process verbally and aloud unless they have been shamed for what their brain does most efficiently the first think they say is not their conclusion Process silently and internally and only want to speak aloud when they have arrived at their conclusion unless prodded to do so too early

20 Here to Stay! Gender brain differences are not good or bad, desirable or undesirable, right or wrong; they are what they are and you can make your life easier or more difficult by your response to the differences Increased knowledge can trigger positive communication and collaboration and it can be so much fun!

21 The End