Sex Differences And Spatial Behavior Among Rats

Various experiments and measurements were performed in the field in order to compare the two types of rodents. The following is a list of the data collected through multiple observations over a span of two years. We captured 100 rats of each rodent population, and we found the average weight, length, hind limb, and forelimb measurements. In addition, we conducted experiments in regards to their top speed, average height that they could leap, gestation time, and average time spent in the courtship display.

Group D had begun the experiment with similar results as Group N––with many mistakes––but after the initial 10 days of no reward followed by food rewards, Group D ended the experiment with very little mistakes, like Group C. This experiment proved that the rats really did know where they were at within the maze––especially Group D––and that within the first 10 days they had spent in the maze they were actually building a mental representation of the maze, or a cognitive map. In the "spatial orientation experiment" (Hock 113), the results concluded that the highest number of rats selected path 6 as their route; path 6 was the route that led almost directly to the location of the food reward, and this supported the idea that the rats had not only built a cognitive map of the maze, but could comprehend in which general direction the location of the food reward was in relation to the rats' starting point. Why is this study significant to the field of

Differences related to gender in spatial memory are most widely described and studied of cognitive sex differences. In 1974 Maccoby and Jacklin established that males usually perform better than females in measures of spatial performance, and this discovery has been constantly replicated in multiple studies covering various developmental stages (McGivern et al. 1997; Lewin et al. 2001) and spatial tasks (Dabbs Jr. et al. 1998; Driscoll et al. 2005).

| Researchers have found that the female hippocampus tends to be larger than the male hippocampus. Based on evidence presented in the Critical Thinking box in the text, “ 'His ' and 'Her ' Brains?” you would be justified in asserting which of the following?1. Because of the differences in the size of the hippocampus, females will be

According to Hetherington and Parke (2002), studies of brain imaging identified that in female bilateralism there were greater amounts of blood flow. The male brain reflects greater lateralization attributing to a higher success rate in spatial tasks and mathematics.

Researchers has identified other types of cells that further aid in the coding of cognitive maps. Grid cells, head direction cells, and border cells are all three cells that aid in the way people and animals find their way around. Wayfinding is a kind of navigation in which we take route that usually involves making turns. Our ability to get from one place to another may seem simple, especially for routes we have traveled many times. Wayfinding may be complicated to others, while it could also be simple. One difference in wayfinding can be traced to experience and how well you know the route. According to Carolyn Gregorie, studies have shown that men have a better sense of direction than women do. Previous studies including many decades old experiments on rats in mazes, have shown that men tend to outperform women on tasks requiring spatial awareness and wayfinding. Men are found to use cardinal directions more in their navigation meaning, men tend to use a “world-centered strategy,” going in the general direction of where something is

Critics of sociobiology argue that their assumption that all men are aggressive and all woman are evasive cannot be considered universally accurate and also does not explain behaviours such as homosexuality or celibacy (Haralambos & Holborn, 2000). Since it is common for women to display masculine behaviours such as being aggressive and men to display feminine behaviours such as being sensitive, Connell (1995) suggests

Gurian presented six differences between males and females in Chapter 1, including chemical, hormonal, and emotion processing, and how they influence an individuals learning process. The chemicals serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, estrogen and testosterone are processed differently in males and females. Males have 52 percent more serotonin, which regulates mood and anxiety levels, than females. Females with lower serotonin levels often suffer from depression, while males are often identified as Attention Deficit. Another chemical, dopamine, a neurotransmitter, controls the brain's reward and pleasure centers as well as helping to regulate movement and emotional responses. Dopamine can be stimulated differently in males and females effecting movement, increased chances of addiction, difficulty with paying attention, impulsivity, and more sensation-seeking individuals dependent upon their concentrations. Although, oxytocin, vasopressin, estrogen and testosterone are chemicals produced by the body, they are created by hormones.

Differences in brain structure between males and females result in important differences in perceptions, emotional expressions, priorities and behaviors. (*) Relationship traits, problem solving approaches, mathematical abilities, reactions to stress, language, emotions, brain size, pain perception, spatial ability and susceptibility to disorders are just some areas in which men and women react differently because of their differences in brain structure. (*) To some scientists and theorists these many influential biological differences between men and women make gender roles inevitable. (*)

The experiment was conducted using adult male Sprague-Dawley rats from the Charles River Laboratories in Hollister, California. The rats were housed in cages, two rats per cage, for a 12 hour light/dark cycle. The investigation began by combining the use of lateral

But they couldn’t be more wrong. Victoria M. Indivero of Penn State News’s ‘Sex segregation in schools, detrimental to equality’ say,”Neuroscientist have found a few difference between male and female brains, but none have been linked to different learning styles.” And to further back up this claim, I have Gina Rippon of Neuroscience News’s ‘Are Female and Male brains really different.’Which states,”It can be shown that a ‘characteristically male’ density of dendritic spines or branches of a neuro cell can be changed to the ‘female’ form simply by the application of a mild external stress. Biological sex alone cannot explain brain differences; to do so requires an understanding of how, when, and to what extent external events affect the struggle of the brain.” So as you can see the gender of the host does not determine nor change any aspect on the brain. It all has to do with the uniqueness of the brain and what happens outside it to the rest of the body that determines exactly what is need for living and learning. For example, if someone had been in a traumatizing car accident, but he was a young boy, it would be best not to stick him into a classroom that is littered with pictures and pictures of cars because they are seen as ‘boyish’. The things we do and happen to us as people

Fifty twelve week old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. They were kept at 22-23 °C. Water was kept in glass bottles and cages were lined with wood bedding. The rats were randomly assigned to one of five groups (10 rats/group). Groups 1 and 5 were control groups. Groups 2, 3 and 4 were the test groups.

There are many theories and approaches to gender in terms of biology and science in general, which aim to suggest or prove that gender is natural and inherent. The first of these is the effect of hormones, more specifically testosterone, which causes male behaviour patterns such as aggression, competitiveness and a higher sexual drive. Testosterone also helps in the development of the brain. The brain is divided into two hemispheres, a left and a right. The left side of the brain is specialised in language skills whereas the right hand side of the brain is used for more non-verbal such as spatial awareness skills. Shaywitz et al (1995) used MRI scans to examine the brain whilst males and females carried out language tasks of varying difficulties. It was found that females used both hemispheres of the brain to complete the task whereas males only used the

Structural brain differences also occur in humans. One significant behavior difference is between men and women. Men tend to be more sexually aggressive and aroused more often. Women are generally more fluent verbally. The suprachiasmatic nucleus is usually about 2.5 larger in the male brain than the female brain and there is a part in the amygdala that is also larger (9). The suprachiasmatic nucleus affects sexual behavior and larger amounts of testosterone cause it to be larger. In females, the corpus callosum and the anterior commissure are larger (9). Both of these structures are responsible for communication between the two hemispheres in the brain. The better communication between the two sides leads to better verbal fluency. These examples show how small differences in the brain can greatly affect human behavior. This means that it is possible that criminals have differences in their brains which cause them to act in socially unacceptable ways.

Females are better at verbalizing and verbal tasks and use double the amount of words than males when talking. Females also learn how to read and write earlier than males and also have a superior sensory system. Females use their five senses much better and are able to remember sensory information easier and have better hearing ranges than males (Sasser). It may often seem that males do not pay attention in the classroom, but in reality it may not be a case of attention at all. Males actually might not hear the frequency or pitch of the teacher’s voice, so in turn a teacher needs to talk louder. Females may take this the wrong way and consider it yelling when in fact the teacher is just trying to get everybody’s attention (Moton). Males are able to spatially process information better. Having this advantage makes them better at multiple skills such as motor skills, mental manipulation of objects, mathematical and abstract reasoning, processing symbols and pictures, navigation, and computer processing (Sasser).