His Brain, Her Brain

aSubject "His Brain, Her Brain" By Larry Cahill, 40 Scientific American (May, 2005)

The fact that brains are different and also react differently as measured and recorded by MRI and EEG's. It makes a lot sense that each gender should be treated differently for the treatment of mental disorders. I feel that with this and other research supporting these theories Doctors, Psychologist, and Drug Companies will find cures and relief for those inflicted with mental disorders like Schizophrenia and Depression. The references that I thought supported Cahill's theory are as fallows.

Jill Goldstein (Pg2) used MRI's to visually show the differences in the bulk of the frontal cortex, Limbic Cortex between the male and female species, showing that sex does influence the way brains work. This was supported in this article also by Sandra Witelson (pg2), with her "counting the neurons in postmortem samples" showing the differences in the neuron counts in some of the different layers of the cortex between the males and females.

Cahill then used a study by M Alexander (pg3) whose research demonstrated that the "Inborn Inclination" (pg3) showed the differences in the behaviors of male and females without the influence of gender bias. Now that Cahill has established the differences in male and female brains he wanted to show some of the more detailed differences. By using the research from Katharina Braun (pg4) and Janice M Juraska he was able to show some differences between the sexes under stress and how they react during learning experiences.

Mirko Diksic (pg6) Study of Serotonin levels between the sexes identified huge differences between the two sexes. A surprisingly "52 % higher on average in males than in women, which might help clarify why women are more prone to depression" (pg6). Jill Becker's discovery of the estrogen levels and how it affects the dopamine release in the brain, and its effects on addiction.

Followed by the Ruben and Raquel Gur study confirming the differences, also providing more findings supporting the evidence that the brain reacts differently between the sexes in "brain abnormalities like schizophrenia" (pg7) Cahill concludes with the statement "growing numbers now agree that going back to assuming we can evaluate one sex and learn equally about both is no longer an option."

The information presented by Cahill made me think about what other effects the differences between males and females there are besides the physical attributes of the brain. The study of Serotonin production was interesting to me. I was under the impression that women were generally less susceptible to depression than men. The information I learned from this article, will lead other scientists to conduct more testing and research finding the answer to cures for mental illnesses and its prevention.