03.05.08

Boys and girls process language differently

Posted in Biology, Science at 10:42 pm by angela

Although researchers have long agreed that girls have superior language abilities than boys, until now no one has clearly provided a biological basis that may account for their differences.

For the first time — and in unambiguous findings — researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks.

What the researchers found is that language areas in girls’ brains worked harder when they were being tested by reading or auditory means.

In boys’ brains, however it was the hearing or visual centers that worked harder.

Researchers speculate that there may have been an evolutionary advantage to men being able to focus their hearing and sight in avoiding dangers.

But I’ve been saying that all along.

Tests were run on boys and girls age 9 to 13. They’re going to have to duplicate the test on adults in order to make sure that this is not something that the younguns outgrow.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2008)

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