Re: corpus callosum. Hoo boy! Here are two research papers taking different positions, the one against is quite acerbic, but the one for is undeterred. I'd go with the Johns Hopkins Radiology department, the research they do there on 3-D MRI imaging is awesome.
>>>>>Cereb Cortex 1998 Oct-Nov;8(7):635-40
Sex differences in anatomic measures of interhemispheric connectivity: correlations with cognition in women but not men.
Davatzikos C, Resnick SM
Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
A robust sex difference in the splenium of the corpus callosum, reflecting greater interhemispheric connectivity in women, was observed on magnetic resonance images from 114 individuals. In addition, bulbosity of the corpus callosum correlated with better cognitive performance in women but not in men, indicating that the degree of interhemispheric connectivity has different implications for men and women. These findings were based on a new image analysis technique which allows investigation of local variability in brain morphology.<<<<<
>>>>>Neurosci Biobehav Rev 1997 Sep;21(5):581-601
Sex differences in the human corpus callosum: myth or reality?
Bishop KM, Wahlsten D
Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
It has been claimed that the human corpus callosum shows sex differences, and in particular that the splenium (the posterior portion) is larger in women than in men. Data collected before 1910 from cadavers indicate that, on average, males have larger brains than females and that the average size of their corpus callosum is larger. A meta-analysis of 49 studies published since 1980 reveals no significant sex difference in the size or shape of the splenium of the corpus callosum, whether or not an appropriate adjustment is made for brain size using analysis of covariance or linear regression. It is argued that a simple ratio of corpus callosum size to whole brain size is not an appropriate way to analyse the data and can create a false impression of a sex difference in the corpus callosum. The recent studies, most of which used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), confirm the earlier findings of larger average brain size and overall corpus callosum size for males. The widespread belief that women have a larger splenium than men and consequently think differently is untenable. Causes of and means to avoid such a false impression in future research are discussed.<<<<< |
