This is an automatically translated article.
The article was consulted with - Doctor Le Thu Phuong - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.Usually girls will cuddle, love to play with pink dolls, while boys love the strength of superheroes. Scientists suspect that the brain development of boys and girls is shaped differently even before they are born, even more profoundly than upbringing.
1. The brain development of a baby boy while in the mother's womb
Boys are a little testosterone machine in the womb. In fact, male newborns have as much testosterone as a 25-year-old man. But after giving birth, testosterone drops sharply until puberty.Among many functions, testosterone is involved in shaping the brain development of boys. Animal studies have shown that this hormone increases and decreases synapses (connections between brain cells) at different locations.
According to another study, both male and female rats given prenatal testosterone supplements performed better in maze tests immediately after birth. While scientists haven't made any conclusions about humans based on this study, it's also an indication that testosterone improves spatial reasoning.
Animal studies also show that in any male gender, there are still some female regions in the brain. "There's really no brain that's completely male, but a mix of male-specific patches and some female-specific patches," said the expert.
Sự phát triển trí não của bé trai khi còn trong bụng mẹ
2. Baby girl's brain development while in the womb
Girls also make some testosterone before birth, but not as much as boys. Although women do produce female hormones such as estrogen, these hormones have little effect on the brain development of girls.In other words, women would have brains like boys if testosterone wasn't involved in shaping. However, science is still unclear whether the structure of the brain makes women more likely to cry than men? Or is the brain shaped by emotions? Or is it a combination of the two?
3. Compare the brain development of boys and girls as they grow up
When girls and boys are born, brain development continues in different directions. MRI studies show that female brains grow rapidly in some of these regions, while male brains outgrow others. So the brains of boys and girls of the same age may be at different stages of development. However, they eventually caught up with each other. Brain size also varies. The male brain is slightly larger than the female brain, but the significance of this is unclear.Some studies have shown that in girls, the caudate region, which controls language and emotions, tends to be larger. This part of the brain is especially active when you look at pictures of your loved one.
Other studies show that the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, is larger in girls than in boys. So some scientists deduced that girls often use both the left and right hemispheres of the brain to solve problems.
In rat studies, males had slightly larger amygdala. This is the area of the brain that controls deeper emotions, such as fear.
Bộ não nữ giới tăng trưởng nhanh ở một số vùng này, trong khi nam giới vượt trội ở vùng khác.
4. Do girls and boys think differently?
Children build connections between brain cells, imagine new images, and hone new skills as they read, listen, watch, and learn.Scientists are combining the brain MRI results of 500 healthy boys and girls to answer questions about their brain development. Some interesting findings are as follows:
In most of the tests, boys and girls show very similar abilities. Because they're all equally good at math, it's very likely that the loss in math skills growing up is down to education, not biology. Girls were better at memorizing and reciting lists of words, and slightly better at tasks that required finger dexterity and quick thinking. Boys dominated with space tasks, such as arranging lego blocks to form models. Small differences in brain structure do not necessarily mean that men or women will outperform in a certain area. Experts explain that the baby's brain is very flexible, important areas will expand or contract at will when used.
MRi não cho phép giải đáp về sự phát triển trí não của trẻ
5. Unsolved mysteries about brain development
Scientists say there may be a brain region that drives more boys towards moving things (passion for motor exploration) and more girls towards nurturing (love of playing with dolls). However, this is still not clearly defined.A girl who has only played with dolls this month may move on to building toys and Lego blocks next month. Even if she never had a fascination with toy cars, little girls can enjoy their bicycles and learn how to fix chains. In contrast, a boy may never play with dolls, but will learn how to take care of a pet and raise young children later on.
Another mystery is that people don't always follow the stereotype. There are many "tomboy" girls who show little interest in dolls and boys who are drawn to "girly" activities from an early age.
As is well known, there are structural differences between the brains of boys and girls, both at birth and as they grow up. But until now, exactly how those differences affect behavior, personality, ... remains a mystery. The most important thing is the brain development of girls or boys are very flexible.
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Reference source: babycenter.com
