Male and female brains

[ladyofastolat]

My Dad sent me this email yesterday:

"I wonder if you can possibly track down some information for me. There is a theory that early brain development is radically affected by testosterone, and that explains alleged differences between male and female brains. Both men and women produce testosterone, but in different quantities. What I want to know is how different. Is it reasonable to assume that the level in every normal man is higher than in every normal woman? Or is it like height, in that there is a big overlap? I've spent some considerable time failing to find out, but hope that with your superior Google skills you can get there. Don't spend too long on it."

I did a quick Google, but it occurred to me that some of you clever people out there might already know about this, what with the large range of academic disciplines represented on my Friends list.

Comments

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

I don't know about in adults, but I can remember from my education courses that all fetuses start out female. It's an infusion of testerone that helps make some of them become male.

And that's all I got. Sorry!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I believe that if you are a crocadile, it's all about temperature rather than hormones. Unless that's turtles...

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think turtles have any effect on the sex of crocodiles.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Hmm, they are pretty thick skinned. I guess even if there was a line of watching turtles, the crocs would prbably just get on with it...

God I really must do some work now before my brain falls out completely.
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*floop*

Damn, too late!

[nilsigma.livejournal.com]

Apparently females have 1/7th the testosterone levels of males, at least in adulthood. Here is the reference -homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/josephs/pdf_documents/Testos_Encyclo_Entry.pdf

I would have thought that any possible difference between 'male' and 'female' brains would happen in utero though.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll pass the link on to my Dad and see what he makes of it.

[tovaglia.livejournal.com]

AFAIK there is no overlap between levels of blood testosterone in normal men and normal women.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Thanks!