Men and women really ARE programmed differently: Brain scans show striking differences between the sexes, which could explain why ladies are more emotionally aware, while men have a better sense of direction

If you’ve ever had an argument with the opposite sex, it can be tempting to conclude that men and women are just not on the same page.

Research not only shows that this is indeed the case, but also that men and women are really different from birth.

In what is described as one of the largest studies of newborn brain anatomy, scientists performed head scans on more than 500 babies.

In general, the female babies had more gray matter in their brains, while the males had more white matter.

Gray matter is usually found in the outermost layer of the brain, or cortex, and plays a major role in mental functions such as memory, emotions and information processing.

Meanwhile, the white matter, the lighter tissue toward the center, speeds up signals between cells and plays a crucial role in helping the body process information.

The University of Cambridge researchers suggest that these sex-based differences extend into adulthood.

However, whether significant differences exist between the brains of men and women is a hotly debated issue.

“Several sex differences we found at birth do indeed appear to extend into adulthood,” lead author Yumnah Khan told MailOnline.

There are already indications that women have more gray matter in their brains than men, but whether this difference has existed since birth is ‘underexposed’.

To find out more, the team studied data from the Developing Human Connectome Project, a collaboration between King’s College London, Imperial College London and the University of Oxford.

They looked at sex differences in brain volumes in 514 newborns aged 0 to 28 days (236 women and 278 men).

Babies had undergone a brain scan with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.

On average, male brains tended to be larger in volume than female brains, even after sex differences in birth weight were taken into account.

“We took into account additional factors, such as birth weight, to ensure that these differences are specific to the brain and not due to general size differences between the sexes,” said co-author Dr Alex Tsompanidis from the University of Cambridge .

Looking specifically at gray matter, females showed, on average, larger volumes in gray matter areas associated with memory and emotional regulation.

Meanwhile, men had, on average, larger volumes in gray matter areas involved in sensory processing and motor control.

Sensory processing describes the way the body receives and interprets incoming stimuli through our senses, while motor control is simply our ability to regulate or direct our movements.

So women may be better at recalling and processing memories, while having more emotional awareness.

Meanwhile, men may have a better sense of direction and be more aware of our physical surroundings.

It is thought that these differences develop in the womb but can become more pronounced after birth.

“Because these sex differences become apparent so soon after birth, they may partly reflect biological sex differences during prenatal brain development,” says Khan.

‘(These can) then interact with environmental experiences over time to shape further sex differences in the brain.’

The study – published in the journal Biology of sex differences – is described as the largest yet to investigate brain differences in newborns.

It counts Simon Baron-Cohen among its authors, director of the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Center and cousin of the comedian and actor Sacha.

More than two decades ago, he proposed the extreme male brain theory for autism, suggesting that men were better at “systematizing” by finding patterns and rules, while women were better at empathy.

“These differences do not imply that the brains of men and women are better or worse,” says study author Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge.

‘This research may be useful in understanding other forms of neurodiversity, such as the brain in children who are later diagnosed as autistic, as it is more commonly diagnosed in males.’

The question of whether male and female brains differ significantly in adulthood has long divided researchers.

In 2021, experts from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science reported that brain anatomy hardly differs between the sexes.

‘The brains of men and women differ slightly, but the key finding is that these differences are due to brain size and not sex or gender,’ says lead author Dr Lise Eliot.

‘Sex differences in the brain are small and inconsistent, when individuals’ head size is taken into account.’

However, a 2013 study at the University of Pennsylvania found “striking” differences in the neural wiring of men and women.

Meanwhile, a 2017 study found that women “have more active brains than men,” especially in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in focus and impulse control.