New evidence "proves" that there is a difference in brain structure between women and men

A new study has proven the validity of previous beliefs, which have prevailed for a long time among psychologists, about the existence of a difference in brain structure between women and men.

Scientists at Stanford University of Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence neural network model that distinguishes between brain activity scans of men and women in the United States and Europe with approximately 90% accuracy.

The model revealed differences in the composition of the default mode network, the striatum (the largest structure in the brain's basal ganglia), and the limbic network (a complex set of brain structures involved in emotion, motivation, memory, and regulation of behavior), regions involved in processes including daydreaming, remembering the past, planning the future, and making decisions. And smell.

“The main motivation for this study is that sex plays a critical role in human brain development and aging and in the emergence of psychiatric and neurological disorders,” said senior study author Vinod Menon, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. “Identifying consistent and reproducible sex differences in the brain of healthy adults is promising.” "A critical step towards understanding gender-specific vulnerabilities in psychiatric disorders."

"This is very strong evidence that sex is a powerful determinant of human brain organization," Menon added.

Scientists tried to see if they could use the scans to predict how well someone would perform on a cognition test. They found that no single intelligent model can predict everyone's performance, meaning that characteristics that differ between males and females have different effects on behavior depending on gender.

The findings could shed light on brain conditions that affect men and women differently. For example, autism and Parkinson's are more common in men, while multiple sclerosis and depression are more common in women.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: Daily Mail - Publication date: 20/02/2024 - https://r.rtarabic.com/x0io