Independent Brains

The following is taken from an article in the Independent on Tuesday 18th May 1999 by its Science Editor, Steve Connor.

 

Women may have smaller brains than men but they use them more efficiently, according to a study that found females are more calculating.

 

Scientists have discovered that women's brains are richer in grey matter than the brains of men, whose heads are more densely packed with less efficient white matter.

 

The findings shed new light on the long-established sex differences in intellectual ability, with women performing better at verbal skills, including gossiping, and men being better at spatial relation tasks, such as playing darts.

 

The results may also explain why men and women perform equally well in IQ tests even though men tend to have bigger heads and brains.