Women seem to have younger brains than men the same age
Women have younger brains than men the same age. A study basing age on metabolism rather than birth date found an average 3.8 year difference between men and women. The discovery may help explain why women are more likely than men to stay mentally sharp in their later years.
All brains get smaller with age, and it was already known that men’s tend to shrink at a faster rate. To investigate the differences further, Manu Goyal at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis and colleagues looked at the brains of 205 men and women ranging in age from 20 to 82.
They used positron emission tomography, an imaging technique that helps uncover brain metabolism by measuring the flow of oxygen and glucose. The brain consumes large amounts of glucose for energy, but the pattern of use alters with age.
