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Male And Female Brains Aren't That Different

“We have to treat each person according to what he or she is and not according to the form of their genitals.”
the silhouette of a person in which sits a collection of brightly coloured paper cut outs of cogs, clouds and lightening bolt arranged together to form the shape of a human brain
Image by Catherine MacBride via Getty Images
the silhouette of a person in which sits a collection of brightly coloured paper cut outs of cogs, clouds and lightening bolt arranged together to form the shape of a human brain

Men and women might not always think alike but when it comes to their brains, everything looks the same.

A new study conducted by researchers at Tel-Aviv University looked at MRI scans of more than 1,400 brains in search of traits that could identify the organ as either male or female. What scientists found, however, was that human brains involve a patchwork of traits — none of which are gender specific.

The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, thus states that human brains cannot be classified by gender.

Since we are all a mixture of different traits, professor Daphna Joel, lead researcher on the study says, “we have to treat each person according to what he or she is and not according to the form of their genitals.”

That being said, neuroscientist Larry Cahill of the University of California Irvine (who is not associated with the study), notes that while the brains may not look different, they still might function differently.

Researchers are quick to point out, for example, that neurological illnesses, like depression and Parkinson's tend to be more apparent in certain genders, NY Mag reports.

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