What's Going On Inside Your Head? Take a Look at Differences Between a Man and Woman's Brain

While our brain is only about 2 percent of our total body weight, it comes as no surprise to scientists that up to 20 percent of the body's energy and up to 20 percent of the body's oxygen, comes from this mass. Yet, there is so much that scientists don't know about the brain, and that includes why men and women's noggins' are so different. 

For instance, women seem to be more prone to dementia and depression, yet neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease strike more men. But why?

"More and more research is revealing that male and female brains are much more different than we previously thought," said  neuropsychiatrist Dr Louann Brizendine, author of "The Female Brain And The Male Brain." 

On average, men's brains are 8 to 10 per cent bigger than women's - hardly surprising, as men's heads tend to be larger. But some areas of men's and women's brains are also different sizes. 

According to a study in 2001 by researchers from Harvard University, they found that parts of the frontal lobe, which governs decision-making and problem-solving, is proportionally larger in women. 

In men, the parietal cortex, involved in spatial perception, and the amygdala, which triggers fight or flight responses, covered a larger area - the researchers suggested this meant men would probably make their way round a building better and often sense danger quicker.

It could also be that the activity levels in women and men's brains are different.

"A woman's brain is never at rest, unlike the male brain - a woman is always on alert," said British neuropsychologist Dr Anne Moir, the author of "Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men And Women." "In evolutionary times, women were responsible for children who could get into grave danger, so they had to be extra alert."

When U.S. neuroscientist Dr Daniel Amen compared 26,000 brain scans, women had increased activity - shown by increased blood flow - in 112 of the 128 regions of the brain measured. But more active doesn't mean better, he said. "Male and female brains are different. Women have busy brains; men's are a lot quieter. One pattern is not better than the other; they are just different."