New York (MedscapeWire) Nov 30 — Many women have suspected it all along: men listen with only one side of their brains, while women use both, according to a study on brain imaging being presented in Chicago at the 86th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). But those convinced that women are better listeners than men don't have hard proof just yet.
"Our research suggests language processing is different between men and women, but it doesn't necessarily mean performance is going to be different," said Joseph T. Lurito, MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. "We don't know if the difference is because of the way we're raised, or if it's hard-wired in the brain."
In the study, 20 men and 20 women underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to portions of The Partner, a John Grisham novel. A majority of the men showed exclusive activity on the left side of the brain, in the temporal lobe, which is classically associated with listening and speech. The majority of women showed activity in the temporal lobe on both sides of the brain, although predominantly on the left. The right side of the brain traditionally is associated with performing music and understanding spatial relationships, rather than listening.
"As scientists, we're figuring out what normal is, and more and more often it seems that normal for men may be different than normal for women," said Dr. Michael Phillips, MD, co-author of the study and assistant professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine. "That doesn't mean one is better than the other."
The finding may help with research regarding how men and women recover from stroke and brain tumors, said Dr. Lurito. It may also help guide brain surgeons in avoiding certain areas of the brain, depending on whether they're operating on men or women, he said.
"Also, scientists working on improving imaging technologies, such as fMRI and PET [positron emission tomography], need to be aware of the gender differences," said Dr. Phillips.
Medscape Medical News © 2000 Medscape
Cite this: Men and Women Shown to Hear Differently - Medscape - Nov 30, 2000.
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