A study published in the August issue of the scientific journal Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease revealed that women’s brains are significantly more active than men’s brains.
The aim of the research was to determine the influence of gender on brain activity.
According to the scientists, several small studies had already shown that women’s brains have more active blood flow, but what sets this study apart is that the scientists analyzed more than 25,000 patients, generating more consistent results as they are based on research with a large number of people.
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How the research was done
To achieve this goal, scientists decided to use single photon emission computed tomography, known as SPECT.
The technique uses nuclear medicine technology and provides various information and images of the brain, which can be combined and cropped to analyze different brain regions.
In the study, 128 brain regions were analyzed.
For the analysis, scientists used statistical software to compare the difference between the brains of men and women, also taking into account age and diagnosis data.
More than 46,000 CT scans were performed and analyzed on 119 healthy patients and more than 26,000 patients who had some psychiatric condition, from minor brain trauma to cases of schizophrenia.
The results showed that both the brains of healthy women, and the brains of women who have a clinical case history, show more brain activity when compared to the brains of men.
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Why identify differences in the brain activity of men and women?
According to research, it is important to identify differences in brain activity because Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety affect women more.
While men are more diagnosed with disorders linked to discipline and conduct, such as attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.
Women’s brains are more active when considered as a whole, but scientists also evaluated differences by brain region.
Women have significantly more intense activity in the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for processing emotions, controlling mood and anxiety.
Men, on the other hand, have the regions that control the visual centers and coordination more active.
Scientists argue that the results help to understand the differences in brain activity between men and women and are fundamental in evaluating and understanding how psychiatric disorders affect men and women differently.
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Research centers responsible for the study
The research was carried out in the United States in different important research centers.
Scientists from the UCLA Medical Center, the UCSF Medical Center, the California Amen Clinic, the NYU Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Psychiatry and the Imaging Center at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine participated in the study.
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