1. Woman without her man is nothing
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2. Chp. 12: Sex Differences & Hormonal Influences on Cognitive Function in Humans
Sex differences have been observed in cognitive and motor abilities:
men have the advantage on tasks involving spatial abilities, quantitative abilities, and physical strength
women have the advantage on verbal abilities, perceptual speed and accuracy, and fine motor skills
Sex differences have been observed in brain organization:
differences are observed between men and women on the extent to which various functions are lateralized and localized
differences can also be seen in development of the brain
androgen exposure in utero may enhance certain cognitive abilities
Women show changes in cognitive abilities during the menstrual cycle:
estrogen (and possibly progesterone) facilitates cognitive and motor abilities on tasks that women typically excel at, but decrease abilities, such as performance on spatial tasks, that males typically perform best
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3. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
There are no sex differences in general IQ.
However, sex differences have been observed in specific cognitive and motor abilities.
There are several abilities in which men have the advantage:
spatial abilities: visualizing the rotation of an object in space, or what an object would look like folded or unfolded, even reading a map
quantatitive abilities: mathematical reasoning
physical strength
There are several abilities in which women have the advantage:
verbal abilities: spelling, grammar, acquiring language in childhood, verbal fluency--thinking rapidly of appropriate words, phrases or sentences
perceptual speed and accuracy: ability to perceive quickly and accurately the details of a visual array (words or pictures)
fine motor skills: repetition of words or manual coordination (assembling metal components in a specific order)
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4. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
Differences between men and women have been described in brain organization:
men show a greater degree of cerebral lateralization in function while women show a more bilateral representation of function:
damage of the left hemisphere (but not the right) can produce significant decreases in verbal IQ of males but not of females; in females, both the right and left hemispheres are involved in verbal functions
auditory function in males is also more lateralized: males hear better with the right ear (this information will reach the left cerebral hemisphere); females can hear equally well with both ears
sex difference in localization of language functions:
in the left hemisphere, production and coding of speech is localized more anterior (toward nose) in females and more posterior in males
in males, the planum temporale (a brain region involved in auditory speech functions) is larger on the left than on the right; in females, the planum temporale is large in both the left and right hemispheres relative to males
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6. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
sex differences can be seen in early development of the brain:
the larger planum temporale on the right side of female brain (in comparison to male brain) is apparent by 29th week of gestation
at 13 weeks of gestation, the entire right cortex in males and the left prefrontal cortex in females are more developed than other brain regions; of interest, around 13 weeks of gestation, androgens reach peak levels in the human male fetus
in the rat, perinatal androgens have been implicated in suppressing the growth of the left hemisphere; in the adult rat, the right cerebral cortex is thicker on the right side than on the left (this is not true for females)
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7. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
sex differences have been reported in interhemispheric connections--data suggest that women tend to show evidence for greater connections between the hemispheres:
there is evidence that the massa intermedia, a band of tissue that connects the two halves of the thalamus, is present in women more often than men
there is evidence that the splenium of the corpus callosum, which connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres, is larger and more bulbous in women than in men
there is evidence that the anterior commissure,, which connects structures of the ventral forebrain, is larger in women compared to men
the presence of greater connections between the hemispheres may help to explain the findings that women tend to be less lateralized in some cognitive functions
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8. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
exposure to androgens early in life appears to play a role in masculinization or feminization of cognitive function in humans:
females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) experience higher levels of androgens than normal females (they lack an enzyme that converts androstenedione to cortisol)
females with CAH show enhanced spatial abilities when compared to unaffected female relatives
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9. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
Menstrual cycle studies have been used to address variations in mood:
rise in estrogen during periovulatory period has been associated with increased feelings of well-being
drop in estrogen/rise in progesterone has been associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, and hostility (PMS = premenstrual syndrome)
not all women report emotional changes during their menstrual cycle, and the severity of such changes can vary markedly from woman to woman and from cycle to cycle
In addition, a variety of changes in cognitive abilities have been reported during the menstrual cycle:
spatial abilities are improved when estrogen levels are low
verbal ability and perceptual speed and fine motor skills are enhanced when estrogen (and/or progesterone) levels are elevated
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11. ...Cognitive Function in Humans
most studies have compared females during menses (estrogen levels are low) to females during the periovulatory phase (elevations in estrogen) or the luteal phase (elevations in estrogen and progesterone)
increases in estrogen (and/or progesterone) facilitate cognitive and motor abilities on tasks that women typically excel at, but decrease abilities, such as performance on spatial tasks, that males perform best
menses
periovulatory & luteal phases:
estrogen levels are low
estrogen levels are high
(progesterone levels are
elevated during luteal phase)
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spatial abilities are improved
verbal ability and perceptual
speed is greatest
fine motor skills are enhanced

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13. Woman, without her man, is nothing.
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Woman! Without her, man is nothing.