http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12170249%255E2703,00.html

Males slow to realise 'men are quick thinkers' claim could offend
Roger Dobson and Will Iredale, London
February 07, 2005
BOYS may be outperformed by girls at school but there is a glimmer of
hope for them. Researchers claim to have found scientific proof that
men can think faster than women.

Their study found that men's brain cells could transmit nerve impulses
faster than women's – potentially giving males the intellectual edge.

The claim will add fuel to the debate recently triggered by Larry
Summers, the president of Harvard University, who challenged the
prevailing wisdom when he suggested women were innately less able than
men in subjects such as maths and science.

The new study is likely to prompt similar anger. This weekend, the
intellectual credentials of the researchers – all male – were
themselves already being challenged by other eminent neurologists. In
the study, scientists measured nerve conduction velocity, the speed at
which messages passed through and between brain cells.

Other studies have suggested the speed of such impulses is linked to
intelligence, drawing parallels with computers, where faster
processors result in more power to carry out tasks quickly.

The latest paper, to be published shortly in the academic journal
Intelligence, will say: "Males had four faster NCVs than females. This
very significant sex difference in all test conditions in favour of
males was most unexpected."

Under the research, scientists carried out investigations on 186 male
and 201 female Canadian students, who were subjected to a battery of
cognitive tests to assess their intelligence and other mental skills.

Researchers also measured the length of their subjects' heads to
estimate the distance impulses would have to travel from the eye to
the primary visual cortex, which interprets what someone is seeing.

Then they used electrodes to measure how long it took for an image
flashed in front of the eye to send an impulse back to the visual
cortex.

Professor Edward Reed, a zoologist at Toronto University, and Philip
Vernon and Andrew Johnson, psychologists at the University of Western
Ontario, found the impulses were speeding through men's brains faster
than through women's. They suggest this is because the nerves in men's
brains have a slightly thicker coating of myelin, a fatty material
which protects the nerves and improves conductivity.

The report concludes: "We find that males have four faster NCVs than
females with each of the three test conditions, probably due to their
faster increase of white matter in the brain during adolescence."

The researchers appear to have realised only recently that such
conclusions could prove political and controversial. This weekend all
three were refusing to comment on their findings although Vernon said
he would consider replying to emails.

It has long been clear that men's and women's brains do have important
differences and each tends to perform certain tasks slightly better
than the other. For example, some studies suggest men have better
spatial skills, while women may be more emotionally aware and verbally
fluent.

However, most experts point out that the differences are small
compared with the similarities and that there is far more variation
between individuals than genders.

Bruce Burns, assistant professor in the department of psychology at
Michigan State University, conducted a study of chess players,
suggesting those who were quicker thinkers were likely to make better
moves.

He said: "There is controversy about sex difference but there seems to
be a fair amount of agreement that men do tend to have better visual
spatial skills. However, I am not sure we can say that makes them more
intelligent."

Desmond Morris, the social anthropologist and zoologist, said
evolutionary pressures were likely to have given men and women
slightly different skills. "Perhaps men's better visual responses came
from having to hunt animals while women developed personal skills from
child-rearing and co-operating to grow or gather plants," he said.

However, others reject such simple analyses, comparing the methods of
the Canadian research to phrenology, a discredited Victorian science
which attempted to link intelligence, creativity and other mental
faculties to the size and shape of people's skulls.

Professor Steven Rose, director of the brain and behaviour research
group at Britain's Open University, said previous studies suggested no
difference in decision-making between men and women. "It is true that
men and women use different parts of the brain for similar tasks but
the time taken to complete the tasks is identical."

Bea Campbell, the feminist writer and historian, also questioned the
findings. "The distribution of intelligence is much the same for all
genders and all races," she said. "Our experience and common sense
tells us that the quest to prove one or another biological group is
brainier than the other is really a vain exercise."

The Sunday Times

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12170249%255E2703,00.html

Males slow to realise 'men are quick thinkers' claim could offend
Roger Dobson and Will Iredale, London
February 07, 2005
BOYS may be outperformed by girls at school but there is a glimmer of
hope for them. Researchers claim to have found scientific proof that
men can think faster than women.

Their study found that men's brain cells could transmit nerve impulses
faster than women's – potentially giving males the intellectual edge.

The claim will add fuel to the debate recently triggered by Larry
Summers, the president of Harvard University, who challenged the
prevailing wisdom when he suggested women were innately less able than
men in subjects such as maths and science.

The new study is likely to prompt similar anger. This weekend, the
intellectual credentials of the researchers – all male – were
themselves already being challenged by other eminent neurologists. In
the study, scientists measured nerve conduction velocity, the speed at
which messages passed through and between brain cells.

Other studies have suggested the speed of such impulses is linked to
intelligence, drawing parallels with computers, where faster
processors result in more power to carry out tasks quickly.

The latest paper, to be published shortly in the academic journal
Intelligence, will say: "Males had four faster NCVs than females. This
very significant sex difference in all test conditions in favour of
males was most unexpected."

Under the research, scientists carried out investigations on 186 male
and 201 female Canadian students, who were subjected to a battery of
cognitive tests to assess their intelligence and other mental skills.

Researchers also measured the length of their subjects' heads to
estimate the distance impulses would have to travel from the eye to
the primary visual cortex, which interprets what someone is seeing.

Then they used electrodes to measure how long it took for an image
flashed in front of the eye to send an impulse back to the visual
cortex.

Professor Edward Reed, a zoologist at Toronto University, and Philip
Vernon and Andrew Johnson, psychologists at the University of Western
Ontario, found the impulses were speeding through men's brains faster
than through women's. They suggest this is because the nerves in men's
brains have a slightly thicker coating of myelin, a fatty material
which protects the nerves and improves conductivity.

The report concludes: "We find that males have four faster NCVs than
females with each of the three test conditions, probably due to their
faster increase of white matter in the brain during adolescence."

The researchers appear to have realised only recently that such
conclusions could prove political and controversial. This weekend all
three were refusing to comment on their findings although Vernon said
he would consider replying to emails.

It has long been clear that men's and women's brains do have important
differences and each tends to perform certain tasks slightly better
than the other. For example, some studies suggest men have better
spatial skills, while women may be more emotionally aware and verbally
fluent.

However, most experts point out that the differences are small
compared with the similarities and that there is far more variation
between individuals than genders.

Bruce Burns, assistant professor in the department of psychology at
Michigan State University, conducted a study of chess players,
suggesting those who were quicker thinkers were likely to make better
moves.

He said: "There is controversy about sex difference but there seems to
be a fair amount of agreement that men do tend to have better visual
spatial skills. However, I am not sure we can say that makes them more
intelligent."

Desmond Morris, the social anthropologist and zoologist, said
evolutionary pressures were likely to have given men and women
slightly different skills. "Perhaps men's better visual responses came
from having to hunt animals while women developed personal skills from
child-rearing and co-operating to grow or gather plants," he said.

However, others reject such simple analyses, comparing the methods of
the Canadian research to phrenology, a discredited Victorian science
which attempted to link intelligence, creativity and other mental
faculties to the size and shape of people's skulls.

Professor Steven Rose, director of the brain and behaviour research
group at Britain's Open University, said previous studies suggested no
difference in decision-making between men and women. "It is true that
men and women use different parts of the brain for similar tasks but
the time taken to complete the tasks is identical."

Bea Campbell, the feminist writer and historian, also questioned the
findings. "The distribution of intelligence is much the same for all
genders and all races," she said. "Our experience and common sense
tells us that the quest to prove one or another biological group is
brainier than the other is really a vain exercise."

The Sunday Times