The tears. The touchy-feely conversations. The constant worrying. What is up with this woman? Don't blame her, blame her brain. Turns out, what's happening in her head is very, very different than what's happening in a guy's. You can't change her ways, but you can at least get clued in.
Woman Why #1: She's tearing up again. Turns out, she turns on the waterworks to get your attention. Because men are naturally less able to pick up on other's emotional distress (the part of her brain in charge of feelings is larger and more active than a male's), some scientists hypothesize that women evolved to cry four times more frequently than men because that was what it took to get his attention!
Woman Why #2: She wants to talk about our feelings. Researchers have found that connecting with another through talking trigger the pleasure centers in a woman's brain with a rush of dopamine and oxytocin - the biggest neurological reward you can get outside an orgasm.
Woman Why #3: She finds problems where there are none. Her anterior cingulated cortex - the part of the brain that worries - is larger and more easily activated than a guy's. And since the emotional centers of her brain are already in overdrive, she tends to believe the worst of things. She's also more likely to overreact (contain your surprise!); scans show that women's brains activate more than men's in anticipation of pain or fear.
Woman Why #4: She remembers the most random details. Women have a better memory for emotional details, because - you guessed it - their brain's emotional center, the amygdale, is more easily accessed. That part of the brain labels the details of her romantic memory for long-term storage in the hippocampus. The male brain follows the same system, but with less intensity. Men stay more in their left, analytical, brain, which is why males are so good with figures and facts.
Woman Why #5: She's not obsessed with sex. It's not that she's not as interested - but she does think about it less. Compare her randy thoughts once a day or every couple of days to a guy's sexy imaginings every minute. Turns out, you guys just have more brain space devoted to those thoughts. Men "have O'Hare Airport as a hub for processing thoughts about sex, where women have the airfield nearby that lands small and private planes," writes LouAnne Brizendine in "The Female Brain."
The tears. The touchy-feely conversations. The constant worrying. What is up with this woman? Don't blame her, blame her brain. Turns out, what's happening in her head is very, very different than what's happening in a guy's. You can't change her ways, but you can at least get clued in.
Woman Why #1: She's tearing up again. Turns out, she turns on the waterworks to get your attention. Because men are naturally less able to pick up on other's emotional distress (the part of her brain in charge of feelings is larger and more active than a male's), some scientists hypothesize that women evolved to cry four times more frequently than men because that was what it took to get his attention!
Woman Why #2: She wants to talk about our feelings. Researchers have found that connecting with another through talking trigger the pleasure centers in a woman's brain with a rush of dopamine and oxytocin - the biggest neurological reward you can get outside an orgasm.
Woman Why #3: She finds problems where there are none. Her anterior cingulated cortex - the part of the brain that worries - is larger and more easily activated than a guy's. And since the emotional centers of her brain are already in overdrive, she tends to believe the worst of things. She's also more likely to overreact (contain your surprise!); scans show that women's brains activate more than men's in anticipation of pain or fear.
Woman Why #4: She remembers the most random details. Women have a better memory for emotional details, because - you guessed it - their brain's emotional center, the amygdale, is more easily accessed. That part of the brain labels the details of her romantic memory for long-term storage in the hippocampus. The male brain follows the same system, but with less intensity. Men stay more in their left, analytical, brain, which is why males are so good with figures and facts.
Woman Why #5: She's not obsessed with sex. It's not that she's not as interested - but she does think about it less. Compare her randy thoughts once a day or every couple of days to a guy's sexy imaginings every minute. Turns out, you guys just have more brain space devoted to those thoughts. Men "have O'Hare Airport as a hub for processing thoughts about sex, where women have the airfield nearby that lands small and private planes," writes LouAnne Brizendine in "The Female Brain."
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