“Without education and the formatting of society, is there a difference, yes or no, between the brains of women and those of men?” asks Lisa, listener of the podcast Le Point J. Décryptage.
At birth, male and female brains are very similar and only 10% of neuronal connections are established at this stage. “It seems that there is a very small part of innate and that most of our brain abilities are acquired through education and experience, which play a vital role in the ‘wiring’ of the brain,” explains Joëlle Schwarz, sociologist and epidemiologist who heads the “health and gender” unit at Unisanté.
“At a fundamental level, male and female brains are much more similar than different,” confirms Sivaniya Subramaniapillai, neuroscience researcher at CHUV and the University of Lausanne, who is interested in brain aging in women and men. However, there are important differences in hormonal systems that may influence brain aging differently in men and women.
In the 19th century, theories based on brain volume and weight led to biased conclusions asserting white male intellectual superiority
Historically, we have always tried to establish differences between the brains of men and women. “Theories of the 19th century reflect situated knowledge, constructed by white male scientists with access to a certain level of education,” explains Joëlle Schwarz.
-Then, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revolutionized the understanding of the brain by revealing its plasticity. Brain plasticity shows how neural connections evolve according to individual activities and experiences. So, for example, the areas of the cortex responsible for spatial representation are more developed in experienced taxi drivers.
Can we develop our empathetic side or our ability to represent ourselves in space? Why does Alzheimer’s disease affect women more?
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Juliane Roncoroni and the Point J team
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