From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
Raise your hand if this story sounds familiar.
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The ultimate power couple. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C. |
A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That isall -- milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also tobuy milk.
She buys it.
But, she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night.
Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets abottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband’sniece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert andremembers stamps to mail the bills. And don’t forget soap for the bathroom.
And that is the difference between the female and male brains simplyexplained in a grocery store.
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Neural map of a typical male brain. (Photo courtesy of National Academy of Sciences) |
Generally speaking, men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Doingmany things at one time is often called “multi-tasking,” a very popular wordthese days.
Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along – men and women think differently.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from eight to 22 years old. They found that male brains have moreconnections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In the female brain, they found more activity andconnections between the right and left sides of thebrain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of “reason.” The right hemisphere is known as the “creative” side.
Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrotethe report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult theymight use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just oneside of the brain.
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Neural map of a typical female brain. (Photo courtesy of National Academy of Sciences) |
As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem.There is a strong connection between the “understanding” and the “action” parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of thebrain, like the part connected with reason and the partconnected with sensitivity when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution.
Dr. Verma warns that the study should not lead anyoneto expect some behaviors from women and others frommen.
And that’s the Health Report, from VOA Learning English. I’m Anna Matteo.
