Brain has no gender, study reveals

Two centuries ago, scientists believed that they could determine a person's gender simply by looking at their brain. A recently published study debunks this theory, revealing that brains look alike, whether they are male or female.

"There is no doubt that there are differences between men and women...but that does not mean that every individual has a 'female' or 'male' brain as she or he has female or male genitalia," Prof. Daphna Joel said to Jerusalem Post reporters. Prof. Joel heads the team of researchers.

The group's conducted their study at the Sagol Neuroscience Center. Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America or PNAS.

According to The Jerusalem Post, a total of 1,400 brain scans were included in the study. Specific regions were measured and compared to see if there were differences in terms of size.

The Los Angeles Times says a total of 116 different regions were examined. Out of this number, only 10 areas showed the most distinction between men and women.

The data showed that only 6 percent of the samples showed characteristics that made the brain more masculine or more feminine. Approximately 35 percent featured a mix of both male and female traits.

Next, the researchers examined the scans to see if there were unique features for each gender. The researchers attempted to measure the thickness of the gray matter for both the male and female brains.

Similar to the first set of results, the researchers concluded that finding a predominantly male or female brain was rare. Most of the brains had features from both genders.

Joel says their study is one of a few which concludes that the brains of both men and women are essentially the same.

The concept of a "male" or "female" brain is an old one, the professor tells New Scientist. Part of the belief states that male brains secrete testosterone, making them more masculine.

Professor Joel adds that the idea of male or female behaviors may also be a myth. Science Mag says the group analyzed brain activity for stereotypical behaviors such as scrapbooking and playing video games.

Only 0.1 percent of the samples showed behaviors associated with stereotypical males or stereotypical females.

"There is no sense in talking about male nature and female nature. There is no one person that has all the male characteristics and another person that has all the female characteristics."