London - Ladies, if you’ve ever been left fuming by a man who says you can’t be as clever as him because you’ve got a smaller brain, here’s the perfect response.
Women’s brains may not be as big as men’s - but they are more efficient. A study found they use less energy and fewer brain cells than men’s to achieve the same, or even better results.
While men have more bundles of neurons, which are essential for reasoning, women have more connections between them.
In a study of 59 women and 49 men, neuroscientists at the University of California focused on the hippocampus, the part of the brain vital for memory and emotions.
In men, a bigger hippocampus and more neurons corresponded with a higher level of intelligence. But in women a larger hippocampus was no indication of greater intelligence. The study even suggested a smaller hippocampus might be better.
The paper, published in the journal Intelligence, said: “At this structural level, females might show greater efficiency requiring less neural material for achieving behavioural results on a par with males.” - Daily Mail