April 25, 2014 - Connectomes: Gender Brain Wiring Differences
This seminar is designed to showcase results of connectome studies recently published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the title of “Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain.” Researchers created connectome maps using Diffusion Tensor Imaging or DTI, a tool that can indirectly outline the path of myelinated axons that facilitate long-range conduction of electrochemical signals and are part of the brain's white matter. Researchers have established the level of connectivity between nearly 100 regions of the brain. One hundred! The results showed “that male brains are optimized for intrahemispheric communication and female brains for interhemispheric communication.” It includes practical applications related to direction finding, giving versus receiving directions for travel, driving, pecking order, and more.