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One Paragraph on Male and Female Brain Differences | One Paragraph Science



There’s actually no difference between the male and female minds. 
A new research study, published in the journal Neuroimage, is disproving the myth that states that the hippocampus (a crucial part of the brain that consolidates new memories and helps connect emotions to the senses) is larger in females than in males. Leading a team of students at the Rosalind Franklin Medical School, Lise Elliot, Ph.D., conducted a meta-analysis of structural MRI volumes that found no significant difference in hippocampal size between men and women. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows researchers to combine the findings from many independent studies into a comprehensive review. The team examined findings from 76 published papers, involving more than 6,000 healthy individuals. Hippocampi are located on both sides of the brain, under the cerebral cortex. The team's findings test the familiar argument that a disproportionately larger hippocampus explains females' tendency toward greater emotional expressiveness, stronger interpersonal skills, and better verbal memory. Through their research, they found that there is no difference in the size of the corpus callosum (which is the white matter that allows the two sides of the brain to communicate) nor do men and women differ in the way their left and right hemispheres process language. 

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