All in the mind in battle of sexes

It will come as no surprise to women – parts of their brains are bigger then men's.

There is, however, no winner in this battle of the sexes – scientists have also found some areas of male brains are larger than those of females.

The findings are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that male and female brains are very different, both in physical features and the way they're wired.

The research could help explain why the sexes behave so differently, New Scientist reported.

Women were found to have a bigger hippocampus, which controls short-term memory and spatial awareness.

In men, larger areas included the parietal cortex, which processes signals from sensory organs, and the amygdala, which controls emotions. Previously, it was thought that differences in the brains of men and women were limited to the hypothalamus, which controls food intake.

But bigger did not necessarily mean better, said Associate Professor Cynthia Darlington of Otago University. "They just work differently."

She said that while studies had shown men's brains were generally bigger, it was also known that women's were more tightly packed with brain cells. Women have a thicker connection between the sides of the brain, which helps their processing ability.

There were marked differences in the chemical make-up of men's and women's brains, she said. Women have 50 per cent less serotonin than men, making them more prone to depression.

MEN ARE FROM MARS MYTHS

* Men aren't emotionally tuned in: He might not remember every detail of how you met, but that doesn't mean he's an insensitive oaf. Women are just better at remembering emotional events because their amygdala is tuned in to capturing them.

* Women have no sense of direction: Women are less likely to be good at reading maps, but have other ways of getting to a destination. Using their hippocampus they will draw on physical clues and landmarks.

* Women talk more: Both sexes say about 16,000 words a day.

- © Fairfax NZ News