The female brain is different from the male. Neuropsychiatrist Luanne Breezerdine talks about this in The Female Brain. It has not been translated into Russian, but we have read it and share the main ideas.
The brain of a man and a woman is the same only for the first 8 weeks after conception. At this time, the male embryo releases testosterone, a hormone that commands a man all his life. And that first hormonal hit shrinks the parts of the brain responsible for hearing, speech, and communication, and doubles the area associated with sex.
Size does not matter
The male brain is about 9% larger. And in the XNUMXth century, men were proud of it. Around this time, the expression “chicken” or “chicken” brains appeared. It was used to hint at the narrow-mindedness of women.
However, more recent brain research has shown that, despite their smaller size, the female brain contains the same number of neurons as the male, so claiming a lack of brains in women is, at the very least, silly.
Your boss is a sweet, understanding woman who always leaves work early to meet her mother-in-law at the station. But sometimes she suddenly turns into a fury? These are progesterone leprosy, which in the second half of the menstrual cycle turns ladies into irritable and whiny.
The female brain is more susceptible to change. In a month it can change by 25%.
Throughout life, the size of the female brain can change many times. For example, in the third trimester of pregnancy, a woman’s brain shrinks and regains its previous size only six months after giving birth. This does not mean that a pregnant or lactating woman is becoming stupid.
The role of a mother changes the outlook, habits, reactions and abilities of a woman. The sensory areas of the brain are enlarged, as is the amygdala, which regulates fear and anxiety. And the hypothalamus, which is responsible for the menstrual cycle, loses activity.
With the advent of a child, a woman improves spatial thinking, and her brain becomes more flexible.
Men do not cry
Some boys cry more than girls. One of the reasons is that at preschool age they are less able to formulate thoughts and emotions are expressed by cries and tears. In adolescence, a testosterone explosion turns restless boys into asocial types who now think not about pranks and experiments, but about sex.
Teenage girls, on the other hand, become rude and aggressive. In this difficult period, they, unlike young men, are hypersocial. And parents should abandon the punishments associated with depriving their daughters of communication. Teenage girls are twice as likely to be depressed as boys. They even inherit a special “depressive” CREB2 gene, which bypasses boys.
Women often complain about the callousness of their partners. Empathy is innate in girls, while boys acquire it throughout their lives.
Men do not know how to “read” emotions on faces, they do not distinguish intonations well. They realize that they did something wrong only when the partner starts crying, screaming or breaking dishes.
A newborn girl has a larger area of the brain responsible for communication. Therefore, she reacts to the crying of other babies and carefully examines the face of the mother as early as 24 hours after birth.
The girl is more responsive to changes in the mother’s emotional state and calms down faster when she hears affectionate words from her parents. The hormone estrogen, which makes little girls need to communicate, also contributes to better emotional contact with loved ones.
Women’s intuition is an innate ability to observe facial expressions and tone of voice, to catch emotional and behavioral changes and draw conclusions.
Anna knew that something would change soon. Her husband Alex had been drinking morning coffee for several days in a row and at the same time looking somewhere far away, past the TV. This could not but alert the woman, who for many years observed her husband’s manic passion for the morning news. When she asked Alex what he was thinking, he just brushed it off.
A month passed, and Alex told his wife that he was ending his career as a lawyer. All this time, his thoughts were occupied with an unpleasant process, which became the catalyst for this decision. A month ago, Alex did not realize that he wanted to change jobs. And Anna, who knew all his habits, emotions and gestures, felt the upcoming changes in his career much earlier than he did.
We love differently
The human brain hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years. And, no matter how social stereotypes put pressure on us, we choose a partner with the help of the brain. Both a man and a woman need a partner with whom they can give birth and raise healthy offspring.
A global study conducted by evolutionary psychologist David Buss showed that the criteria for choosing a partner have not changed for thousands of years. They are approximately the same for representatives of 37 cultures and do not depend on skin color, standard of living, education and religious affiliation.
Women are looking for a partner who is slightly taller (approximately 10 cm) and slightly older (approximately 3,5 years). They evaluate the chosen one primarily by the availability of material resources, so the question of work in the first minutes of meeting should not confuse a man.
Men in both Alaska and Africa dream of attractive wives who have clear skin, full lips, thick hair, and an hourglass figure.
A woman is not less than 20 and not more than 40 years old, but on average she is 2,5 years younger than her partner.
The brain of a woman “scans” a man for a few seconds. Within a minute, she manages to ask the right questions. Depending on the answers and the results of the “scanning” of the appearance, the release of the hormones dopamine and testosterone occurs or does not occur, which lead the woman into a state of sexual arousal.
Her upbringing may not allow her to end up in bed with a man she hardly knows. But the brain has already made its choice. If the man’s brain also “approved” the new acquaintance, the ancient mechanism of courtship-marriage-parenthood is launched. This mechanism often fails due to modern realities.
Forewarned is forearmed
Knowledge about the features of the female and male brain can make life easier. We will be able to use our strengths “for peaceful purposes” and will not demand the impossible from a partner.
Women will start a new career on maternity leave because they are aware of their new abilities and opportunities. Parents will be wiser in raising their children. For example, do not demand from your son to stop crying, realizing that he does not have enough words to express the surging feelings. And don’t scold your teenage daughter for talking on the phone, because communicating with friends is the most important thing at her age.
A wife will not demand from her husband to declare his love to her 10 times a day. The husband, noticing that his wife is crying for the second day, will cook dinner.