The Female Brain
When a baby girl is born, her brain is already sexed
and programmed for femaleness. Brain structure is responsible
for many developmental differences between boys and
girls.
• In the womb the cortex which determines intellect,
develops sooner in girls than boys.
• The left half of the cortex which controls thinking
develops earlier in girls; this confers greater language-related
skills on girls than boys.
• The corpus callosum, the part of the brain that
connects the right lobe to the left is better developed
in girls.
• The two sides of the brains talk to each other
earlier and better in girls; this bestows on them the
advantage in reading, a skill that uses both sides of
the brain.
• Girls show earlier and greater fear on separation
than boys because their nervous connections mature earlier.
This leads to faster message transmission than in boys
and so girls recognize earlier what's going on around
them.
The Male Brain
While in the womb the male child is programmed for maleness.
Differences in brain structure and function between
boys and girls affect the way they develop s they grow
up.
• A boy's brain weight and volume is greater than
a girl's by about 10-15 percent.
• When the right side of the brain is ready to
send connections to the left side, the appropriate cells
don't yet exist in boys. As a result the fibers go back
into the right side. This enriches connections within
the right lobe and could explain why boys have greater
spatial awareness than girls.
• Boys show less fear on separation because they
have slower message transmission until the brain matures.
From as early as 9-10 months, they bring the fear of
separation under control by activity such as playing
with a toy or crawling to investigate an object so as
to distract themselves. This mode of behavior continues
right into adulthood.
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