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Female Brains Appear to Be More Youthful Than Male Ones, Study Suggests
Scientists have just found a new distinction between the brains of the two sexes: age-related changes to the brain occur more slowly in women than in men. The jury is still out on whether cognitive differences between men and women are created by nature or nurture [open, DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0311-5] [DX] - or to what extent they even exist - but we do know that average structural differences between the sexes are a real thing.
This latest research now indicates that female brains, on average, appear to be about three years more youthful than the brains of males of the same age when it comes to brain metabolism. This difference could be why women tend to stay mentally sharp [open, DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.71.1.29] [DX] for longer than men, the researchers said.
"We're just starting to understand how various sex-related factors might affect the trajectory of brain ageing and how that might influence the vulnerability of the brain to neurodegenerative diseases," said neuroscientist Manu Goyal of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Brain metabolism might help us understand some of the differences we see between men and women as they age."
Scientists had already established that age-related grey matter volume decrease occurs more quickly in male brains than female brains [DOI: 10.1007/s11682-015-9468-3] [DX]. It's also been demonstrated [open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0806883105] [DX] that gene expression in the brain changes more rapidly in ageing men than women, resulting in a reduced ability to build and break down molecules in the male brain.
Also at NPR.
Persistent metabolic youth in the aging female brain (open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1815917116) (DX)
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:22AM (5 children)
What does this study offer? We already knew that women tend to outlive men. All they seem to have accomplished, is to confirm that women age more slowly than men. Does this open some other line of research that might slow aging, either in men, or in women, or in both?
As an aside - we have a woman who works second shift at work. I hadn't seen her in a couple weeks, but didn't miss her. Saw her last night, on the production floor. Had to take a second, then a third look. She looked considerably younger than I recalled. I asked 2nd shift maintenance, "That's the same blonde who looked almost sixty a couple weeks ago?" He told me she took vacation, and went to Florida. I figure she found that Fountain of Youth the Spaniards were searching for when they found Florida. She was looking about 30 last night!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:26AM (1 child)
Maybe us men can extract their brain fluids and use it to stay young.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:39AM
That brings a whole new meaning to "swapping body fluids". I much prefer donating my fluids to her though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:51AM
It confirms god's will. What more can you want?
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:19AM (1 child)
Fountain of Youth? I thought that was just an Age of Empires 3 campaign.
More to the point, could this mean that women's brain develops at a slower rate than men's brain? This could be an evolutionary result of women choosing above their strata and vice-versa.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:18PM
Ponce de Leon, among others, took the idea seriously. He thought he would find that fountain in Florida. https://www.history.com/news/the-myth-of-ponce-de-leon-and-the-fountain-of-youth [history.com]