The Female Brain

Louann Brizendine, M.D. is a neuroscientist with degrees from Berkley and Yale. She completed her training at Harvard Medical School and has taught there, as well as at UC San Francisco. She founded the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic in 1994, is an active clinician and a research scientist. Her book “The Female Brain” has been translated into 26 languages and was a New York Times bestseller.

Dr. Brizendine’s book brings the public an insight into her research about how the female brain differs from its male counterpart. It is a fascinating journey, explaining the female brain from conception until death.

Below are some items learned from reading “The Female Brain.”

· The brain of a fetus is female until 8 weeks into gestation, when large levels of testosterone are released into the brain and bloodstream.

· According to Brizendine’s interpretation of clinical studies, female infants seem to be more primed for communication, typically gazing more at their caregiver’s facial expressions and paying more attention to their utterances.

· The female brain appears to have more connections between left and right hemispheres, and a greater number of cells devoted to perceiving and processing language.

· Post-pregnancy, the female brain shrinks by 8 percent, returning to its original size within a year.

Clearly, Dr. Brizendine is eminently qualified and incredibly knowledgeable about her field. It is difficult to write a book targeted towards a general audience, because levels of understanding among the public can vary widely. This is perhaps one reason why some of the material was deemed “controversial” by the media. The book contains a lot of basic scientific information about hormones, presented clearly with engaging case-study examples.

Dr. Brizendine has also just published “The Male Brain,” which looks to be a fascinating read!