Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research Girls' and boys' brains not so different

Sorry--those numbers are from another study I have bookmarked--I am actually not familiar with the AMC stuff. I could dig it up in a bit.

Hi ColinsMum, thanks for reposting the link � I had seen it

The book I was referring to isn�t a popular science book, it�s an introductory neuroscience textbook. Ultimately it supports what you�re saying � that intra sex variation is greater than inter sex variation. However, while the authors� do reference the Shaywitz study on laterality mentioned in the articles you linked to, it also refers to a number of studies and literature reviews as its basis for the claim that it seems that there does seem to be at least preliminary evidence of sex differences in laterality, including a review of 266 different studies on laterality effects in males and females. Ultimately the authors� conclusion was that while there was not conclusive evidence that differences exist, �the frequency as well as the consistency of reports of sex differences in cerebral organization, however, lead us to accept their reality at least as a working hypothesis. The strength of the case, in our opinion, rests on the diversity of methodologies (clinical studies, behavioural research, neuroimgaging) that point to the same conclusion: females are less lateralised than males�. They go on to say �This consistency in the direction of asymmetries that are reported suggest that there are true sex differences that are small in magnitude and easily masked by individual variability or other factors that may not be controlled�. However the book is over 10 years old and perhaps the later studies referred to in the Springer articles put paid to those referred to in to the book.

In terms of buying in to myths, I don�t believe for a second that women are less capable than men in maths and science, I absolutely agree that social rather than biological causes have been a work in holding women back in these domains in the past. I don�t at all believe that woman are less intelligent than men. However, what is apparent to me from the small amount of reading I have done on the topic is just how little we know about the brain at all. My main point, which I suspect I mangled the delivery of, is that it does seems to me that if there is a possibility that there are differences in the way men and women�s brains work then ignoring or denying that is counterproductive to ensuring women have access the best opportunities in life. Difference isn�t a bad thing in and of itself, it is only a problem if it�s used to further someone�s ideological agenda.

I thought the article was saying that the female brain shrinks 4% during pregnancy and then returns to normal size after the baby is born.

That doesn't have anything to do with sexism, although it does have something to do with sex.

Here is the paper that I think the WebMD article is based on.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289611001206
Intelligence
Volume 40, Issue 1, January–February 2012, Pages 60-68
Sex differences in brain volume are related to specific skills, not to
general intelligence
Miguel Burgaleta, Kevin Head, Juan �lvarez-Linera, Kenia Mart�nez,
Sergio Escorial, Richard Haier, Roberto Colom
Received 26 April 2011; revised 27 October 2011; Accepted 27 October
2011. Available online 29 November 2011.
Abstract
It has been proposed that males would show higher mean scores than
females in general intelligence (g) because (1) men have, on average,
larger brains than women, and (2) brain volume correlates with g. Here
we report a failure to support the conclusion derived from these
premises. High resolution MRIs were acquired in a sample of one
hundred healthy young participants for estimating total, gray, and
white matter volumes. Participants also completed an intelligence
battery – comprising tests measuring abstract, verbal, and spatial
abilities – that allowed the extraction of g scores. Results showed
consistent relations between sex differences in brain volumes and
non-g spatial and verbal skills but not for g.

Charles Murray's comments are at http://blog.american.com/2011/12/a-...nding-male-female-cognitive-differences/

On average, men have better spatial skills--this does seem to be the case and I won't argue it. However, a great deal of research shows that spatial skills can be easily improved through training. So were the differences due to innate ability or to boys' and men's greater exposure to spatial tasks, such as building with blocks and Lego and video games? I don't actually know if training can change amounts of gray and white matter.

Ah, well--that wasn't hard to find:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0002669

"Recently, activation-dependant structural brain plasticity in humans has been demonstrated in adults after three months of training a visio-motor skill. Learning three-ball cascade juggling was associated with a transient and highly selective increase in brain gray matter in the occipito-temporal cortex comprising the motion sensitive area hMT/V5 bilaterally."

more user-friendly:

http://classic.the-scientist.com/news/display/55830/

Sounds right. Don't London cabbies grow to have ginormous geographic-mapping centers in their brains after years of practice winding through their city's streets? I seem to remember a threefold increase in size.

ETA: Hmm.

That's pretty wild about them cab drivers. It totally sounds like it makes sense.

You may find interesting the article

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/education/10math.html
Math Skills Suffer in U.S., Study Finds
By SARA RIMER
New York Times
October 10, 2008

The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued.

The study suggests that while many girls have exceptional talent in math � the talent to become top math researchers, scientists and engineers � they are rarely identified in the United States. A major reason, according to the study, is that American culture does not highly value talent in math, and so discourages girls � and boys, for that matter � from excelling in the field. The study will be published Friday in Notices of the American Mathematical Society.

<end of excerpt>

The report being discussed is

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/10math_report.pdf
Cross-Cultural Analysis of Students with Exceptional Talent in Mathematical Problem Solving
by Titu Andreescu, Joseph A. Gallian, Jonathan M. Kane,
and Janet E. Mertz