Women aren't very good at reading maps, and men are incapable of multi-tasking.
At first glance they might seem like a couple of hoary old stereotypes from the battle of the sexes. But are they?
A new study looking at the neural wiring of the male and female brain has concluded that there may be some truth to commonly held beliefs about what makes men and women tick.
The study, published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, has found striking differences between the way men's and women's brains are wired to work.
The study, one of the largest ever conducted scrutinising the "connectomes" that link different parts of the brain, was carried out by the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.
A total of 949 individuals (521 females, 428 males) aged between eight and 22) underwent diffusion tension imaging (DTI), a sophisticated water-based imaging technique that can highlight and map out the fiber pathways of the brain.
The study found a greater degree of neural connectivity from front to back within one hemisphere in males, suggesting brains were wired to facilitate connectivity between perception and co-ordinated action.
Women's brains meanwhile were wired between left and right hemispheres, indicating they facilitated communication between the analytical and intuition, the study found.
"These maps show us a stark difference -- and complementarity -- in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks and women at others," said Ragini Verma, a radiology department professor at Perelman who worked on the study.
The study reported that on average men are more likely better at learning and performing a single task, such as navigating.
Women meanwhile were likelier to have a superior memory and social cognition skills -- making them better equipped for multi-tasking and creating solutions which could work for a group.
"It's quite striking how complementary the brains of women and men really are," said one of the study's authors, Ruben Gur.
"Detailed connectome maps of the brain will not only help us better understand the differences between how men and women think, but it will also give us more insight into the roots of neurological disorders, which are often sex related."
The study noted only a few gender differences in the connectivity in children under 13, but found more pronounced differences in 14 to 17-year-olds and young adults older than 17.
AFP
Tue Dec 03 2013
Hospital UMS bakal beroperasi pada tahun 2026
Hospital Universiti Malaysia Sabah (HUMS) yang sedang dalam proses pembinaan bakal beroperasi pada bulan Januari 2026
LLB beri amaran jangan hampiri pantai, R&R Bagan Ajam
Berikutan kejadian yang berlaku pada tengah hari Selasa, pihak Lebuhraya Lingkaran Luar Butterworth (LLB) memberi amaran kepada orang ramai agar tidak menghampiri kawasan pantai di situ kerana cuaca yang sangat tidak baik dan keadaan ombak yang tinggi.
Hujan lebat: Rakyat Perlis dinasihatkan berwaspada - MB
Hujan lebat disusuli angin kencang melanda beberapa kawasan sekitar Perlis pada Selasa menyebabkan pokok tumbang, selain gangguan bekalan elektrik.
Jumlah mangsa banjir melebihi 2,000 orang, 11 PPS dibuka
Situasi banjir di Kedah makin memburuk selepas bilangan mangsa mencecah 2,180 orang mangsa daripada 385 keluarga yang ditempatkan di 11 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS).
Ahli GISB dituduh di Mahkamah Putrajaya pada Rabu
Berdasarkan pemakluman kepada media, individu terbabit akan didakwa di bawah Seksyen 506 Kanun Keseksaan di Mahkamah Putrajaya pada Rabu.
Melaka dalam proses wartakan lima lagi ajaran sebagai sesat
Kerajaan Melaka dalam proses mewartakan lima lagi ajaran dan kegiatan baharu sebagai sesat.
PRK Mahkota: Syed Hussien enggan tabur janji bulan dan bintang, ingin kekal semangat kekeluargaan
Syed Hussien berazam ingin terus mengekalkan semangat kekeluargaan yang dinikmati penduduk di DUN Mahkota.
Meteorit Marikh ditemukan di Antartika dipamerkan di Ekspo Osaka 2025
Ditemukan pada 2000, meteorit itu telah tercampak ke angkasa lepas akibat kesan asteroid di permukaan Marikh.
Perang di Gaza perlu dihentikan, tiada pendudukan semula Israel - Kamala Harris
Calon Presiden AS gesa gencatan senjata serta penyelesaian dua negara dan kestabilan Asia Barat dengan cara yang tidak memperkasakan Iran.
Malaysia-Brazil bekerjasama rebut peluang pasaran halal bernilai AS$3 trilion - Timbalan Menteri
Transaksi pertanian antara kedua-dua negara telah berada dalam aliran menaik sehingga mencecah RM6.4 bilion pada 2023.