Neuroscience to the rescue: The difference between being & becoming
So if women and men do not have such innately dissimilar brains, why do they seem so different? Parvizi explained that the brain exhibits significant neuroplasticity, as it able to make structural and functional changes in response to environmental inputs; in his words, “the brain is molded by experience.” As the brain replicates the same signals over time, the networks through which they are sent become progressively stronger, as repetition reinforces both the networks and brain synapses. Building off, “… what we know about the neural basis of learning, one can argue that the map of associations in the brain is sculpted by ourexperience throughout our life. Even if the hard wiring of the brain remains unchanged, the function of the hardware is constantly altered by experience.”
Thus, “if we are to entertain the idea that humans ‘experience’ life differently, and that different experiences mold the brain function differently, then we must also seriously consider that gender (along with class, ethnicity, age, and many other factors) would also contribute to this experience, and that they will contribute to molding of the brain.” For instance, it is a commonly known fact that the blind develop superior hearing, in order to compensate for the lack of visual stimuli. Due to the brain’s ability to adapt, this difference becomes a part of the brain structure (especially for those who are born blind); neuroimaging has found that many blind individuals use parts of their visual cortex to process sound.
So if women and men have systematically different life experiences and face dissimilar expectations from birth, then we would expect that their brains would become different (even if they are not innately dissimilar), through these different life experiences. Even if neuroscientists see differences in the brains of grown men and women, it does not follow that these differences are innate and unchangeable. For instance, if girls are expected to be more adept at language, and are placed in more situations that require communication with others, it follows that the networks of the brain associated with language could become more efficient in women. Conversely, if boys receive more toy trucks and Lego’s, are given greater encouragement in math and engineering classes, and eventually take more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses, it follows that the sections of the brain associated with mathematics could become more efficient in men.
However, as Parvizi noted, “The tricky part is that we do not make the mistake of taking account of these differences as evidence for biological determinism.”
Josef Parvizi is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center, and was a Faculty Research Fellow at the Clayman Institute during the 2010-11 academic year. He specializes in the field of clinical neurology and cognitive neuroscience and uses a combination of functional imaging and intracranial electrophysiological recordings and electrical stimulation within the human brain to study cognition and emotion and how they are altered by neuropathological problems. The general theme of his research is the relationship between brain anatomy, physiology, and human cognition.
*Susan Fisk is a graduate student in the Sociology Department at Stanford. She is part of the Clayman Institute student writing team, reporting on gender topics at Stanford.
Josef Parvizi is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center, and was a Faculty Research Fellow at the Clayman Institute during the 2010-11 academic year. He specializes in the field of clinical neurology and cognitive neuroscience and uses a combination of functional imaging and intracranial electrophysiological recordings and electrical stimulation within the human brain to study cognition and emotion and how they are altered by neuropathological problems. The general theme of his research is the relationship between brain anatomy, physiology, and human cognition.
The Clayman Institute creates knowledge and seeks to implement change that promotes gender equality at Stanford, nationally and internationally. The Institute on Gender Research at Stanford University was founded in 1974 and is one of the nation's most distinguished research organizations devoted to the study of gender.
Photograph: compete in the USS California Science Experience at Naval Surface Warfare. In 2008, the National Science Foundation reported that, on average, girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests.
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