WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – Structural differences in the brain as well as differences in behavior are often cited as evidence that brains can be distinctly male or female.
But a new study finds that brains don’t fit into “male” or “female” categories, reports the Washington Post.
“Whereas a categorical difference in the genitals has always been acknowledged, the question of how far these categories extend into human biology is still not resolved,” wrote lead author Daphna Joel, with Tel Aviv University.
The researchers studied MRI scans of about 1,400 people.
They found that only a very small number of the brains studied had features that were entirely male, female, or intermediate between the two. The vast majority of brains varied across a wide spectrum.
“Brains with features that are consistently at one end of the ‘maleness-femaleness’ continuum are rare,” wrote Joel. “Rather, most brains are comprised of unique “mosaics” of features, some more common in females compared with males, some more common in males compared with females, and some common in both females and males.”
Joel hopes that the study will help do away with assumptions made about gender differences. “We separate girls and boys, men and women all the time,” she told New Scientist. “It’s wrong, not just politically, but scientifically everyone is different.”
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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