Men & women really ARE wired differently: Brain scans show why females are more emotionally aware than males
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Jan 8, 2025, 7:30 AM ISTA scientific study reveals that male and female brains are wired differently from the moment of birth.
If you’ve ever found yourself lost in the middle of gendered arguments, you may have chalked it up to an innate disconnect between men and women. Now, a study lends scientific weight to that notion, revealing that male and female brains are wired differently from the moment of birth.
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In what researchers call one of the largest investigations into newborn brain anatomy, over 500 infants underwent brain scans. The study, led by scientists from the University of Cambridge, uncovered striking differences: female babies exhibited greater volumes of grey matter, while male infants possessed more white matter.
According to Daily Mail, Grey matter, the brain's outermost layer, governs crucial functions like memory, emotional regulation, and information processing. Meanwhile, white matter, located deeper within, serves as the brain’s communication superhighway, accelerating signals between neurons and aiding in rapid information relay.
“Several of the sex differences we found at birth do, indeed, appear to extend into adulthood,” lead author Yumnah Khan shared with MailOnline.
The findings reignite the debate over inherent differences between male and female brains, a contentious topic among scientists.
Grey vs. White: A Tale of Two Brain Structures
Analyzing data from the Developing Human Connectome Project, a collaborative effort among leading UK institutions, researchers studied brain volumes in 514 newborns aged 0 to 28 days. Using advanced MRI scans, they discovered that male brains were, on average, larger in volume than female brains, even after accounting for variables like birth weight.
“By accounting for factors such as birth weight, we ensured that these differences are specific to the brain and not merely due to general size differences between sexes,” explained co-author Dr. Alex Tsompanidis of the University of Cambridge.
Further analysis revealed that females had larger grey matter volumes in regions associated with memory and emotional awareness. Males, conversely, showed greater grey matter volumes in areas tied to sensory processing and motor control, potentially offering advantages in physical coordination and spatial awareness.
“These sex differences are evident so soon after birth that they likely reflect biological variations during prenatal brain development,” Khan noted, adding that environmental factors could amplify these differences over time.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre, who previously proposed the “extreme male brain” theory of autism posits that males are more adept at systemizing—identifying patterns and rules—while females excel in empathizing.
“These differences do not imply the brains of males and females are better or worse,” Baron-Cohen clarified. “This research may help us understand neurodiversity, such as autism, which is diagnosed more frequently in males.”
The debate over whether male and female brains differ significantly into adulthood persists. In 2021, researchers from Rosalind Franklin University suggested brain anatomy differences between sexes are negligible and primarily influenced by overall brain size, not sex or gender.
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