Neurosexism

Last updated

Neurosexism is an alleged bias in the neuroscience of sex differences towards reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes. The term was coined by feminist scholar Cordelia Fine in a 2008 article [1] and popularised by her 2010 book Delusions of Gender . [2] [3] [4] The concept is now widely used by critics of the neuroscience of sex differences in neuroscience, neuroethics and philosophy. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Definition

Neuroscientist Gina Rippon defines neurosexism as follows: "'Neurosexism' is the practice of claiming that there are fixed differences between female and male brains, which can explain women’s inferiority or unsuitability for certain roles." [5] For example, "this includes things such as men being more logical and women being better at languages or nurturing." [5]

Fine and Rippon, along with Daphna Joel, state that "the point of critical enquiry is not to deny differences between the sexes, but to ensure a full understanding of the findings and meaning of any particular report." [9] Many of the issues they discuss to support their position are "serious issues for all areas of behavioral research", but they argue that "in sex/gender differences research... they are often particularly acute." [9] Nonetheless, the common factor influencing logical maturity between males and females is the maturity of the frontal cortex, which matures at the age of 25, at the earliest. [10] The topic of neurosexism is thus closely tied to wider debates about scientific methodology, especially in the behavioral sciences.[ citation needed ]

History

The history of science contains many examples of scientists and philosophers drawing conclusions about the mental inferiority of women, or their lack of aptitude for certain tasks, on the basis of alleged anatomical differences between male and female brains. [2] In the late 19th century, George J. Romanes used the difference in average brain weight between men and women to explain the "marked inferiority of intellectual power" of the latter. [11] Absent a sexist background assumption about male superiority, there would be nothing to explain here.

Despite these historical pseudo-scientific studies, Becker et al. [12] argue that "for decades" the scientific community has abstained from studying sex-differences. Larry Cahill [13] asserts that today there is a widely held belief in the scientific community that sex-differences do not matter to large parts of biology and neuroscience, apart from explaining reproduction and the workings of reproduction hormones.

Although overtly sexist statements may no longer have a place within the scientific community, Cordelia Fine, Gina Rippon and Daphna Joel contend that similar patterns of reasoning still exist. They claim that many researchers who make claims about gendered brain differences fail to provide sufficient warrant for their position. Philosophers of science who believe in a value-free normative standard for science find the practice of neurosexism particularly problematic. They hold that science should be free from values and biases, and argue that only epistemic values have a legitimate role to play in scientific inquiry. However, contrary to the value-free ideal view, Heather Douglas argues that 'value-free science is inadequate science' [14]

Examples in science

Prenatal hormone theory

Contemporary research continues in a more subtle vein through Prenatal Hormone Theory. According to the Prenatal Hormone Theory, "male and female foetuses differ in testosterone concentrations beginning as early as week 8 of gestation [and] the early hormone difference exerts permanent influences on brain development and behaviour." [15] Charges of neurosexism may then be moved against the PHT if these alleged hormonal differences are interpreted as causing the male/female brain distinction and in turn are used to reinforce stereotypical behaviours and gender roles. [15]

Empathising–systemising theory

The notion that there are hard-wired differences between male and female brains is particularly explicit in Simon Baron-Cohen's empathising-systematising (E-S) theory. Empathy is defined as the drive to identify and respond appropriately to emotions and thoughts in others, and systematising is defined as the drive to analyse and explore a system, isolate the underlying rules that govern the behaviour of that system, and build new systems. [16] These two characteristics can be seen amongst young girls and boys. Girls have a tendency to play with baby dolls when they are young, enacting their social and emotional skills. Boys tend to play with plastic cars, illustrating a more mechanical, system-driven mind. This may be of course due simply to the environment and to social norms. However, the empathising-systematising theory posits three broad brain types, or organisation structures: type E, the empathiser; type S, the systematiser; type B, the 'balanced brain'. Given that females are twice as likely to display brain type E, and males are twice as likely to display brain type S, [17] he labels these brain 'types' the 'female brain' and the 'male brain', respectively. This type of analysis suggests therefore that most (or at least some) differences in skills and occupation between males and females can be explained by virtue of them having different brain structures.

Baron Cohen's theory has been criticised because it presents a clear-cut dichotomy between male and female brains, whilst this is not necessarily the case: there are females with 'male brains', and males with 'female brains'. Using the gendered labels makes it significantly more likely that evidence of gendered brain differences will be over-stated in the media, in way that might actively shape the gender norms within society. [18]

Neuroimaging

In Delusions of Gender , Cordelia Fine criticises work by Ruben and Raquel Gur and collaborators. [19] In the context of explaining the under-representation of women in science and mathematics, [20] she quotes them as claiming that "the greater facility of women with interhemispheric communications may attract them to disciplines that require integration rather than detailed scrutiny of narrowly characterized processes." [21] This contention is however corroborated by a 2014 study [22] about the structural connectome. The study used 949 youths to establish novel sex differences, establishing the key difference that male brains are optimised for intrahemispheric communication, while female brains are optimised for interhemispheric communication. Furthermore, the development timeframe of male and female brain are vastly different. However, this study used youths from age 8 to 22, where the brain is still developing so the results may not be conclusive enough.

In a 1999 study, Gur et al. found a link between the amount of white matter in a person's brain and their performance on spatial tasks. [23] Fine points out that the sample size of ten people is a small sample size, and the researchers tested for thirty-six different relationships in this sample. [23] Fine argues that results like these should be treated with caution, because, given the sample size and the number of relationships tested, the correlation found between white matter volume and performance in the tasks could be a false positive. Fine accuses the researchers of downplaying the risk of a false positive after conducting many statistical analyses of past research projects, she argues that using their results as the basis of an explanation for why women are under-represented in scientific fields is inadequate here. [19]

Fine also discusses a 2004 neuroimaging study by neuroscientist Sandra Witelson and collaborators. [24] This study was taken to support sex differences in emotional processing by Allan and Barbara Pease in their book Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps [25] and by Susan Pinker in her book The Sexual Paradox . [26] Fine argues that, with a sample size of just 16, the results could easily have been false positives. She compares the study to a famous 2009 study in which, to illustrate the risk of false positives in neuroimaging research, researchers showed increased brain activity in a dead salmon during a perspective-taking task. [27] [19]

Dispute between Fine and Baron-Cohen

A notable dispute in 2010 between Fine and neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen in The Psychologist magazine centred on a study into sex differences in the responses of newborn babies to human faces and mechanical mobiles. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [2] The research took babies under 24 hours old and showed them a human face, or a mechanical mobile. If they were shown the human face first, they were then shown the mechanical mobile and vice versa. The babies responses were recorded, and judges coded the eye movements of the babies to discern which, if either, of the stimuli the babies looked at for longer. [31] The study concluded that female babies looked at human faces for longer, and male babies looked at mechanical mobiles for longer. [31] Therefore, this theory derived the conclusion that female brains are programmed towards empathy whereas male brains are more inclined towards practicality and building systems. This theory suggested that an individual can be characterised into having a certain "brain type" where empathising was called the brain type E, and systemising was called the brain type S. However, some individuals can be equally strong at empathising and systemising and therefore, they possess a "balanced brain". This has the brain type B.

Fine criticised the study, arguing that because the babies were shown one stimulus first and then the other, they may have become fatigued, affecting the results of the study. [2] Furthermore, Fine also argued that the panel of judges watching the babies' eye movements may have been able to guess the sex of the baby, for example if the baby was dressed in certain clothing or had particular congratulatory cards present, giving rise to confirmation type biases. Baron-Cohen has countered these criticisms. [29] Baron-Cohen replied to the fatigue argument by explaining that the stimuli were shown in randomised order, so as to avoid the problem of specific stimuli fatigue in either sex. In response to the claim about bias, he argued that the judges were only able to assess the babies’ eye movements by watching a video of the eye area of the baby, through which it would have been almost impossible to derive the sex of the baby. Notwithstanding this, Fine argued that the effort to conceal the babies’ sex from the experimenters in the room with the babies was "minimal", allowing room for implicit bias, rendering the results unreliable. [30] [33]

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Rebecca Jordan-Young provides a good case study of neurosexism in studies of those with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Because Prenatal Hormone Theory posits early steroid hormones during fetal development as conducive to sex-typical behaviours, studies of genetic females with CAH are important to test the feasibility of this hypothesis.

Jordan-Young conducts a comprehensive review of these studies, finding them to neglect four broad categories of variables that plausibly affect psychosexual development: "(1) physiological effects of CAH, including complex disruption of steroid hormones from early development onwards; (2) intensive medical intervention and surveillance, which many women with CAH describe as traumatic; (3) direct effects of genital morphology on sexuality; and (4) expectations of masculinisation that likely affect both the development and evaluation of gender and sexuality in CAH." [34]

Complex and continuous interactions between biological factors, medical intervention, and social pressures suggest a more holistic explanation for atypicalities in the psychological make up and behaviour of those with CAH than the conventional explanation that prenatal hormones "masculinise" the brain. Neglecting these four categories in our methodology of studies into those with CAH then favours the sex difference hypothesis, providing a clear example of neurosexism in scientific research.

However, studies of CAH fail to account for unusual childhood experiences, parental expectations or reporting bias.

Examples in scientific communication

The media reporting of the neuroscience of sex differences has also attracted criticism. A high-profile example was the reporting of a 2014 neuroimaging study on sex differences the structural connectome of the human brain. [35] The study used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate white matter connections in the brains of 949 participants ranging from 8 to 22 years old. The authors claimed to have discovered "fundamental sex differences in the structural architecture of the human brain". [35] The study was widely reported by media organizations around the world. A content analysis of the media coverage investigated the claims made in the original scientific article and in several different types of media reporting. [36] The analysis showed that information from the scientific article was given "increasingly diversified, personalized, and politicized meaning" in media outlets and was widely seen to have vindicated traditional gender stereotypes, even though the neuroimaging technique used could only detect structural differences, not functional differences, between the sexes. [36]

The changing media environment

The way scientific information is passed from the scientific community into the public consciousness has changed with the development of technology, social media, and news platforms. The traditional route from study, to media, to public consciousness no longer permits. The advent of the "blogosphere" and other forms of social media mean that audiences now actively produce and critique scientific alongside other scientists, whether or not this is a benefit or hindrance to the scientific community is yet to be realised given the infancy of these channels. We should, however, remain alert to the problems arising from greater public involvement in our scientific communication, particularly for the understanding of findings.

Cliodhna O'Connor and Helene Joffe examine how traditional media, blogs, and their comment sections autonomously project prevailing understanding of sex differences (emotion-rationality dualism and traditional role divisions) onto mute findings, construing men as purely rational and women as highly emotional, noting how both social representation theory and system justification theory may be causing bias in the interpretation of these findings. [36] The findings of their study showed significant scope for parties to apply their own personal and cultural agendas onto the findings, and share these through blogs and comments. In projecting prevailing stereotypes on the mute findings, we have a prime example of how neurosexism can arrive in stages outside the domain of science, raising further concerns for the feminist camp for whilst we can apply the necessary checks and balances in the method of our science, once the information is in the public consciousness they can manipulate and construe research however they see fit.

Communication and neurological discoveries

The interest and coverage generated by neurological studies on sex differences is an instance of a wider phenomenon. It is possible to see the 'neuro-' prefix being widely used: "neuromarketing", "neuroeconomics", "neurodrinks". One study documented in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience tested the hypothesis that irrelevant neuroscience explanations accompanying descriptions of psychological phenomena causes people to rate the descriptions as better quality. Results showed that irrelevant neuroscience information does indeed cause people to rate explanations more satisfying than without, even in cases where neuroscience was not useful to explain the phenomenon. [37]

Methodological issues

According to Cordelia Fine and Gina Rippon, there are systematic methodological issues in the neuroscience of sex differences that increase the chances of neurosexism. [7] [19] [4] In other words, questions of neurosexism are not entirely independent of questions about scientific methodology.

Reverse inferences

A reverse inference infers that activation in a particular brain region causes the presence of a mental process. Fine argues that such inferences are routine in the neuroscience of sex differences, yet "the absence of neat one-to-one mapping between brain regions and mental processes renders reverse inferences logically invalid". [4] She emphasises that mental processes arise from complex interactions between a multiplicity of brain regions; the inference from correlation to causation is invalid, because the interactions between brain regions and mental processes are vastly complex. The invalidity stems from brain region activation being multiply realisable.[ citation needed ] For example, the mental processes of experiencing visual art and experiencing the taste of food both activate the nucleus accumbens; activation of the nucleus accumbens then doesn't necessarily cause the mental process of tasting food, since activation could be causing another mental process (e.g. experiencing visual art).[ citation needed ]

Plasticity

Plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change as a result of experiences in one's life. Because of the brain's plasticity, it is possible in principle for social phenomena related to gender to influence the organization of a person's brain. Fine has argued that the neuroscience of sex differences does not do enough to take plasticity into account. In Fine's view, neuroscientists tend to take a snap-shot comparison (looking at current neural differences) and describe the results as "hard-wired", without considering that the observed patterns could change over time. [2] [3]

To examine one possible example of this, consider the 2014 Ingalhalikar et al. study, which used diffusion tensor imaging to find relatively greater within-hemisphere neural connectivity in males’ brains, and relatively greater across-hemisphere connectivity in females’ brains. [35] This was then employed to naturalise sex-specific cognitive differences, which then naturalised their suitability for divergent skill-sets. However, given the aforementioned concept of brain plasticity, the notion that these connectivity differences are exclusively a result of natural biology can be challenged.[ citation needed ] This is because plasticity introduces the alternative possibility that individuals' sex-specific learned behaviours could have also impacted their brain connectome. Thus, the concept of brain plasticity raises the question of whether the observed brain differences from the study are caused by nature or nurture.[ citation needed ]

Sample sizes

Fine [38] has criticised the small sample sizes that are typical of Functional Neuroimaging (FNI) studies reporting sex differences in the brain. She supports this claim with a meta-analysis. She takes a sample of thirty-nine studies from Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases, published between 2009 and 2010, in which sex differences were referred to in the article title. Fine reports that over the entire sample, the mean number of males was 19, and the mean number of females was 18.5. Disregarding the studies making sex-by-age and sex-by-group comparisons (which require larger sample sizes), the average sample sizes were even smaller, with a mean of 13.5 males, and a mean of 13.8 females. She also points out that the second largest study in the group reported a null finding.

Small sample sizes are problematic because they increase the risk of False positives. Not only do false positives misinform, but they also "tend to persist because failures to replicate are inconclusive and unappealing both to attempt by researchers and to publish by journals". [39]

Criticism

Simon Baron-Cohen has defended the neuroscience of sex differences against the charge of neurosexism. In a review of Delusions of Gender, he wrote that:

Ultimately, for me, the biggest weakness of Fine’s neurosexism allegation is the mistaken blurring of science with politics.

The mistake, according to Baron-Cohen, is how Fine ignores that:

You can be a scientist interested in the nature of sex differences while being a clear supporter of equal opportunities and a firm opponent of all forms of discrimination in society. [40]

According to Baron-Cohen, Fine makes multiple errors when critiquing certain experiments. For instance, in the newborn study which indicated that girls look at a human face for a longer period of time, whilst boys look at a mechanical mobile for longer, Fine argues that the stimuli used should have been presented simultaneously, rather than one at a time due to possible fatigue-effects. However, she fails to acknowledge that counter-balancing was integrated into the experimental design, in order to avoid the possibility of order-effects.[ citation needed ] Baron-Cohen holds that Fine overlooks certain details in order to fit her social constructivist theory of human gender differences, obtaining a biased outlook. Similarly, Fine attempts to find faults in certain hormone studies. For instance, she challenges whether FT (Fetal Testosterone) in the amniotic fluid does reflect FT in the brain.[ citation needed ] Baron-Cohen asserts that they would have should they had been able to measure FT in the brain in an ethical manner. Nonetheless, in FT, in the amniotic fluid is the best alternative.[ citation needed ] Again, this is overlooked by Fine.[ original research? ]

Another case for criticism considers emerging evidence from recent studies. The first study finds that some pain perception and inhibition genotypes operate differently in men's and women's brains, [41] whereas the second reveals sex-specific patterns of brain cell death during strokes. [42] An important consequence of these results is that such physiological variations between the sexes serve as a basis to justify emerging research into sex-specific treatment methods to cure illnesses such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease in a targeted, improved fashion.[ citation needed ] The risks of falsely rejecting a potentially valid hypothesis (false negative) of the existence of innate brain sex differences may, in this case, raise serious ethical concerns. This is because the potential to save several more lives with sex-specific treatment may be overlooked if we falsely label all investigations in this area as being neurosexist by nature.[ citation needed ]

The extreme male brain theory of autism

A further reason to take the hypothesis of sex differences in neural structure seriously is that it may shed light on the phenomenon of autism, according to Baron Cohen. He founds his 'Extreme male brain theory' of autism on the idea that there are some traits recurring more often in male brains and some that are more common in female brains (potentially a result of exposure to high levels of foetal testosterone). [43] According to this theory, if we dub 'male' brain one which performs better on systematising tasks than on empathising, and we define 'female' brain the opposite profile, we can then say that "autism can be considered as an extreme of the normal male profile." [44] As 'hyper-systemisers', those with ASD find interest in non-human, rule-based systems. A common trait for autistic individuals is the development of obsessive interests, which can manifest across all levels of functioning. For example, someone with ASD who possesses a lower IQ may become fixated on the collection and organization of objects, whereas those with a higher IQ may form obsessive interest in railway systems or anatomy, for example. [43] This focus upon rigidity governing such interests reflects the hypothesis that the more 'flexible' demands such as reading social cues and empathizing are much more difficult for individuals with ASD. There are interesting implications that follow from this regarding the 'enhancement' of pro-social behaviour in individuals with ASD.[ citation needed ] Particularly, preliminary studies show how oxytocin nasal spray could improve both social communication and interaction:

"under oxytocin, patients respond more strongly to others and exhibit more appropriate social behavior and affect, suggesting a therapeutic potential of oxytocin through its action on a core dimension of autism." [45]

Baron-Cohen's theory was hinted at originally by Hans Asperger in 1944.‘The autistic personality is an extreme variant of male intelligence. Even within the normal variation, we find typical sex differences in intelligence... In the autistic individual, the male pattern is exaggerated to the extreme’ [46]

The extreme male brain theory of autism has many critics, however, who are skeptical of the evidence the theory is based on and its central claims. David Skuse, chair of behavioral and brain sciences at University College London, for example, takes issue with the idea that people with autism lack empathy. He instead claims that people with autism can feel others' pain, but they are slower to process this emotion.[ citation needed ] Thomas Frazier, director of the Center for Autism at the Cleveland Clinic, makes the point that the relationship between gender and autism is complex and that needs to be taken into account more by those proposing the extreme male theory. He claims that researchers do not account for social conditioning enough and that effects, associated with gender, are driven less by innate biological differences and more by cues from parents and siblings about what it means to be a man or a woman.[ citation needed ] People with autism may, however, ignore those cues more than those without it.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Baron-Cohen</span> British psychologist and author

Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of Trinity College. In 1985, Baron-Cohen formulated the mindblindness theory of autism, the evidence for which he collated and published in 1995. In 1997, he formulated the foetal sex steroid theory of autism, the key test of which was published in 2015.

Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.

Mind-blindness, mindblindness or mind blindness is a theory initially proposed in 1990 that claims that all autistic people have a lack or developmental delay of theory of mind (ToM), meaning they are unable to attribute mental states to others. According to the theory, a lack of ToM is considered equivalent to a lack of both cognitive and affective empathy. In the context of the theory, mind-blindness implies being unable to predict behavior and attribute mental states including beliefs, desires, emotions, or intentions of other people. The mind-blindness theory asserts that children who delay in this development will often develop autism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex differences in human physiology</span>

Sex differences in human physiology are distinctions of physiological characteristics associated with either male or female humans. These differences are caused by the effects of the different sex chromosome complement in males and females, and differential exposure to gonadal sex hormones during development. Sexual dimorphism is a term for the phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species.

The empathising–systemising (E–S) theory is a theory on the psychological basis of autism and male–female neurological differences originally put forward by English clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen. It classifies individuals based on abilities in empathic thinking (E) and systematic thinking (S). It measures skills using an Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemising Quotient (SQ) and attempts to explain the social and communication symptoms in autism spectrum disorders as deficits and delays in empathy combined with intact or superior systemising.

Gender incongruence is the state of having a gender identity that does not correspond to one's sex assigned at birth. This is experienced by people who identify as transgender or transsexual, and often results in gender dysphoria. The causes of gender incongruence have been studied for decades.

Childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) is a phenomenon in which prepubescent children do not conform to expected gender-related sociological or psychological patterns, or identify with the opposite sex/gender. Typical behavior among those who exhibit the phenomenon includes but is not limited to a propensity to cross-dress, refusal to take part in activities conventionally thought suitable for the gender and the exclusive choice of play-mates of the opposite sex.

<i>The Female Brain</i> (book)

The Female Brain is a book written by the American neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine in 2006. The main thesis of the book is that women's behavior is different from that of men due, in large measure, to hormonal differences. Brizendine says that the human female brain is affected by the following hormones: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, oxytocin, neurotransmitters, and that there are differences in the architecture of the brain that regulate such hormones and neurotransmitters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience and sexual orientation</span> Mechanisms of sexual orientation development in humans

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender, or none of the aforementioned at all. The ultimate causes and mechanisms of sexual orientation development in humans remain unclear and many theories are speculative and controversial. However, advances in neuroscience explain and illustrate characteristics linked to sexual orientation. Studies have explored structural neural-correlates, functional and/or cognitive relationships, and developmental theories relating to sexual orientation in humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordelia Fine</span> Canadian-born British psychologist and writer

Cordelia Fine is a Canadian-born British philosopher of science, psychologist, and writer. She is a full professor in the History and Philosophy of Science programme at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Fine has written three popular science books on the topics of social cognition, neuroscience, and the popular myths of sex differences. Her latest book, Testosterone Rex, won the Royal Society Science Book Prize, 2017. She has authored several academic book chapters and numerous academic publications. Fine is also noted for coining the term 'neurosexism'.

<i>Delusions of Gender</i> 2010 book by Cordelia Fine

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference is a 2010 book by Cordelia Fine, written to debunk the idea that men and women are hardwired with different interests. The author criticizes claimed evidence of the existence of innate biological differences between men and women's minds as being faulty and exaggerated, and while taking a position of agnosticism with respect to inherent differences relating to interest/skill in "understanding the world" versus "understanding people", reviews literature demonstrating how cultural and societal beliefs contribute to sex differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation</span> Hormonal theory of sexuality

The hormonal theory of sexuality holds that, just as exposure to certain hormones plays a role in fetal sex differentiation, such exposure also influences the sexual orientation that emerges later in the individual. Prenatal hormones may be seen as the primary determinant of adult sexual orientation, or a co-factor with genes, biological factors and/or environmental and social conditions.

Rebecca M. Jordan-Young, is an American feminist scientist and gender studies scholar. Her research focuses on social medical science, sex, gender, sexuality, and epidemiology. She is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience of sex differences</span> Characteristics of the brain that differentiate the male brain and the female brain

The neuroscience of sex differences is the study of characteristics that separate the male and female brains. Psychological sex differences are thought by some to reflect the interaction of genes, hormones, and social learning on brain development throughout the lifespan.

Empathy quotient (EQ) is a psychological self-report measure of empathy developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Sally Wheelwright at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. EQ is based on a definition of empathy that includes cognition and affect.

Sex and gender differences in autism exist regarding prevalence, presentation, and diagnosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Rippon</span> Professor of cognitive neuroimaging

Gina Rippon is a British neurobiologist and feminist. She is a professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham. Rippon has also sat on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psychophysiology. In 2019, Rippon published her book, Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience that Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain, which investigates the role of life experiences and biology in brain development.

Anelis Kaiser is professor of gender studies at MINT, University of Freiburg, Germany. She is also on the lecturer within the social psychology and social neuroscience department at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Along with Isabelle Dussauge, Kaiser was a guest editor of a special issue on Neuroscience and sex/gender of the journal Neuroethics, they also co-founded The NeuroGenderings Network together.

The NeuroGenderings Network is an international group of researchers in neuroscience and gender studies. Members of the network study how the complexities of social norms, varied life experiences, details of laboratory conditions and biology interact to affect the results of neuroscientific research. Working under the label of "neurofeminism", they aim to critically analyze how the field of neuroscience operates, and to build an understanding of brain and gender that goes beyond gender essentialism while still treating the brain as fundamentally material. Its founding was part of a period of increased interest and activity in interdisciplinary research connecting neuroscience and the social sciences.

Daphna Joel is an Israeli neuroscientist and advocate for neurofeminism. She is best known for her research which claims that there is no such thing as a "male brain" or a "female brain". Joel's research has been criticized by other neuroscientists who argue that male and female brains, on average, show distinct differences and can be classified with a high level of accuracy. Joel is a member of The NeuroGenderings Network, an international group of researchers in gender studies and neuroscience. They are critical of what they call 'neurosexism' in the scientific community. Joel has given lectures on her work in both scientific and lay conventions around the world.

References

  1. ↑ Fine, Cordelia (2008-02-07). "Will Working Mothers' Brains Explode? The Popular New Genre of Neurosexism". Neuroethics. 1 (1): 69–72. doi: 10.1007/s12152-007-9004-2 . ISSN   1874-5490.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Fine, Cordelia (2010). Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences. London: Icon Books. ISBN   9781848312203.
  3. 1 2 Fine, Cordelia (2013). "Neurosexism in Functional Neuroimaging: From Scannerto Pseudo-science to Psyche". The SAGE Handbook of Gender and Psychology. SAGE Publications. pp. 45–60. doi:10.4135/9781446269930.n4. ISBN   9781446203071.
  4. 1 2 3 Fine, Cordelia (2013). "Is There Neurosexism in Functional Neuroimaging Investigations of Sex Differences?". Neuroethics. 6 (2): 369–409. doi:10.1007/s12152-012-9169-1. S2CID   144819834.
  5. 1 2 3 Rippon, Gina (2016). "How 'neurosexism' is holding back gender equality – and science itself". The Conversation.
  6. ↑ Hoffman, Ginger A.; Bluhm, Robyn (November 2016). "Neurosexism and Neurofeminism: Neurosexism and Neurofeminism". Philosophy Compass. 11 (11): 716–729. doi:10.1111/phc3.12357.
  7. 1 2 Gina., Rippon (2019). Gendered Brain : the new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain. THE BODLEY HEAD LTD. ISBN   978-1847924766. OCLC   1039606041.
  8. ↑ Eliot, Lise (2019-02-27). "Neurosexism: the myth that men and women have different brains". Nature. 566 (7745): 453–454. Bibcode:2019Natur.566..453E. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-00677-x .
  9. 1 2 "Eight Things You Need to Know About Sex, Gender, Brains, and Behavior: A Guide for Academics, Journalists, Parents, Gender Diversity Advocates, Social Justice Warriors, Tweeters, Facebookers, and Everyone Else". S&F Online. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  10. ↑ Arain M, Haque M, Johal L, Mathur P, Nel W, Rais A, Sandhu R, Sharma S. Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2013;9:449-61. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S39776. Epub 2013 Apr 3. PMID: 23579318; PMCID: PMC3621648.
  11. ↑ Fine, Cordelia (2010). Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences. London: Icon Books. p. 141. ISBN   9781848312203.
  12. ↑ Becker, Jill; McClellan, Michelle; Reed, Beth (2016). "Sociocultural context for sex differences in addiction". Addiction Biology. 21 (5): 1052–1059. doi:10.1111/adb.12383. PMC   5555215 . PMID   26935336.
  13. ↑ Cahill, Larry (2014). "Equal ≠ the same: sex differences in the human brain". Cerebrum. 5: 5. PMC   4087190 . PMID   25009695.
  14. ↑ Douglas, Heather (2000). "Inductive Risk and Values in Science". Philosophy of Science. 67 (4): 559–79. doi:10.1086/392855. JSTOR   188707. S2CID   123184314.
  15. 1 2 Hines, Melissa (October 2010). "Sex-related variation in human behaviour and the brain". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 14 (10): 448–456. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2010.07.005. PMC   2951011 . PMID   20724210.
  16. ↑ Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003). The Essential Difference: men, women and the extreme male brain. Penguin, Allen Lane/Basic Books.
  17. ↑ Auyeung, B., Wheelwright, S., Allison, C. et al. J Autism Dev Disord (2009) 39: 1509. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0772-x
  18. ↑ O'Connor, Cliodhna (October 2014). "Gender on the Brain: A Case Study of Science Communication in the New Media Environment". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e110830. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k0830O. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110830 . PMC   4212998 . PMID   25354280.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Fine, Cordelia (2010). Delusions of Gender. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 147–148.
  20. ↑ Ceci, Stephen J. Williams, Wendy Melissa (2007). Why aren't more women in science top researchers debate the evidence. American Psychological Association. ISBN   978-1591474852. OCLC   916128875.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Cordelia, Fine (2010). Delusions of Gender. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 144.
  22. ↑ Ingalhalikar, Madhura, et al. "Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.2 (2014): 823-828.
  23. 1 2 Gur, Ruben C.; Turetsky, Bruce I.; Matsui, Mie; Yan, Michelle; Bilker, Warren; Hughett, Paul; Gur, Raquel E. (1999-05-15). "Sex Differences in Brain Gray and White Matter in Healthy Young Adults: Correlations with Cognitive Performance". The Journal of Neuroscience. 19 (10): 4065–4072. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.19-10-04065.1999. ISSN   0270-6474. PMC   6782697 . PMID   10234034.
  24. ↑ Hall, Geoffrey B. C.; Witelson, Sandra F.; Szechtman, Henry; Nahmias, Claude (February 2004). "Sex differences in functional activation patterns revealed by increased emotion processing demands". NeuroReport. 15 (2): 219–223. doi:10.1097/00001756-200402090-00001. ISSN   0959-4965. PMID   15076740. S2CID   16232960.
  25. ↑ Barbara, Pease (2007). Why men don't listen & women can't read maps. Pease International. ISBN   978-1920816117. OCLC   226173644.
  26. ↑ Pinker, Susan (11 January 2010). The sexual paradox : extreme men, gifted women and the real gender gap. Random House of Canada. ISBN   9780307375513. OCLC   869813633.
  27. ↑ Bennett, CM; Miller, MB; Wolford, GL (July 2009). "Neural correlates of interspecies perspective taking in the post-mortem Atlantic Salmon: an argument for multiple comparisons correction". NeuroImage. 47: S125. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.161.8384 . doi:10.1016/s1053-8119(09)71202-9. ISSN   1053-8119. S2CID   220973284.
  28. ↑ "Book reviews | The Psychologist". thepsychologist.bps.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  29. 1 2 "Letters | The Psychologist". thepsychologist.bps.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  30. 1 2 "Forum | The Psychologist". thepsychologist.bps.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  31. 1 2 3 Connellan, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S. et al. (2000). Sex differences in human neonatal social perception. Infant Behavior and Development, 23, 113–118.
  32. ↑ Fine, C. (2010). From scanner to sound bite: Issues in interpreting and reporting sex differences in the brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 280–283.
  33. ↑ Cordelia, Fine. "No cloak of objectivity". The British Psychological Society.
  34. ↑ Jordan-Young, Rebecca (2012). "Hormones, context, and "Brain Gender": A review of evidence from congenital adrenal hyperplasia". Social Science & Medicine. 74 (11): 1738–1744. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.08.026. PMID   21962724.
  35. 1 2 3 Ingalhalikar, M.; Smith, A.; Parker, D.; Satterthwaite, T. D.; Elliott, M. A.; Ruparel, K.; Hakonarson, H.; Gur, R. E.; Gur, R. C. (2013-12-02). "Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (2): 823–828. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1316909110 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   3896179 . PMID   24297904.
  36. 1 2 3 O’Connor, Cliodhna; Joffe, Helene (2014-10-29). Boraud, Thomas (ed.). "Gender on the Brain: A Case Study of Science Communication in the New Media Environment". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e110830. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k0830O. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110830 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4212998 . PMID   25354280.
  37. ↑ Weisberg, Deena Skolnick; Keil, Frank C.; Goodstein, Joshua; Rawson, Elizabeth; Gray, Jeremy R. (2007-11-15). "The Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations". Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 20 (3): 470–477. doi:10.1162/jocn.2008.20040. ISSN   0898-929X. PMC   2778755 . PMID   18004955.
  38. ↑ Fine, Cordelia (2012-12-07). "Is There Neurosexism in Functional Neuroimaging Investigations of Sex Differences?". Neuroethics. 6 (2): 369–409. doi:10.1007/s12152-012-9169-1. ISSN   1874-5490. S2CID   144819834.
  39. ↑ Fine, Cordelia (2012-12-07). "Is There Neurosexism in Functional Neuroimaging Investigations of Sex Differences?". Neuroethics. 6 (2): 372. doi:10.1007/s12152-012-9169-1. ISSN   1874-5490. S2CID   144819834.
  40. ↑ Baron-Cohen, Simon. "Delusions of gender - 'neurosexism', biology and politics".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  41. ↑ Mogil, J.S. (2012). "Sex differences in pain and pain inhibition: Multiple explanations of a controversial phenomenon". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 13 (12): 859–866. doi: 10.1038/nrn3360 . PMID   23165262. S2CID   205508189.
  42. ↑ Gibson, Claire L. (2013). "Cerebral Ischemic Stroke: is Gender Important?". Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. 33 (9): 1355–1361. doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2013.102. PMC   3764377 . PMID   23756694.
  43. 1 2 "The "Extreme Male Brain": An Explanation for Autism? | Interactive Autism Network". iancommunity.org. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  44. ↑ Baron-Cohen, Simon (2002). "The extreme male brain theory of autism". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 6 (6): 248–254. doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(02)01904-6. PMID   12039606. S2CID   8098723.
  45. ↑ Sirigu, Angela; Leboyer, Marion; Herbrecht, Evelyn; Zalla, Tiziana; Duhamel, Jean-René; Andari, Elissar (2010-03-02). "Promoting social behavior with oxytocin in high-functioning autism spectrum disorders". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (9): 4389–4394. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.4389A. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0910249107 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   2840168 . PMID   20160081.
  46. ↑ Asperger, Hans (1944). "Die "Autistischen Psychopathen" im Kindesalter". Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten. 117: 76–136. doi:10.1007/BF01837709. S2CID   33674869.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.