Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Women have known it for generations – and the proof has finally arrived.

Scientists have found that the female brain is ‘hard-wired’ to be better at multi-tasking.

Men’s brains, in comparison, are better at concentrating on single complex tasks – whether it be reading a map or cooking a meal.

Scientists scanned the brains of 949 young men and women in the biggest investigation of its kind to date. Using hi-tech diffusion MRI imaging, they mapped the connections between the different parts of the brains.

The researchers discovered that women have far better connections between the left and right sides of the brain, while men display more intense activity within the brain’s individual parts, especially in the cerebellum, which controls motor skills.

Men also have better connections between the front and back of the brain, giving them a better ability to quickly perceive information and use it immediately to carry out complex tasks.

This means they are better at things such as learning to swim or, as the old bone of contention has it, parking a car. Women are better at, for example, remembering a face, which means making connections between different parts of the brain.

The results are likely to be seen as  supporting the theory behind best-selling pop psychology book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – that the sexes are as different as alien races.

Dr Ragini Verma, who carried out the study with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, said: ‘Of course individuals will differ, always.

‘But we said, if you take 1,000 people and analyse the data statistically, what would the male brain look like and what would the female brain look like?’

She explained: ‘The research shows that if women and men are given a task that involves both logical thinking and intuitive thinking, women will do it better – they are better at connecting the left and the right sides of the brain.

‘If you have an instant action to be performed and you need to do it now, male brains are more attuned to it because the front-back action is more intensely connected.’

Speaking about men’s aptitude for motor skills, she said: ‘The intense activity in the cerebellum means men would be better at learning to ride a bike, learning to swim, reading maps.’

The study, involving 428 males and 521 females aged between eight and 22, found that female brains were better at bringing varied pieces of information together.

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