Q. The males in my family don’t seem to listen to me! Why is that?

A. There may be many reasons for a person not “listening” to another. One may involve male-female differences. For example, studies performed at the University of Sheffield showed that female voices were more difficult for males to listen to as compared to the voices of other males. According to researcher Dr. Michael Hunter, the female voice is actually more complex (e.g., differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, greater natural 'melody' in voice) than the male voice, resulting in a more complex range of sound frequencies in the female voice. Males decoded female voices in the auditory portion of the brain that processes music (as compared to Wernicke’s area where male voices as processed). As an aside, these findings, published in the journal NeuroImage, may help to explain why people suffering hallucinations typically hear male voices. (Reported by Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,165217,00.html)