Scientific review papers usually present the state of a research field as it has developed over recent years.
Meta-analysis of published studies is a powerful tool.
In scientific fields, many experiments which produce negligible results (i.e.
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no difference between male and female brains) simply vanish into the files of personal researchers without being published.
The results are emphatic: the human brain is incredibly similar in structure and function across the sexes.
In the 19th century, this was seen as scientific proof of the female brain’s inferior capabilities.
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In fact, they appear to be quitemonomorphic.
Thismythdates to the 19th century, when the hemispheres of the brain were even explicitly identified with the sexes.
Neuroscientists are beginning to reframe the way they approach the brain and sex difference.
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’s review describes these matters as much more complex than a simple dichotomy of brains based on sex.
The review paper by Eliot et al.
is a new phase in the nature versus nurture debate with regards to the brain.
It detangles certain confusing threads.
