Men and women really ARE wired differently: Brain scans show striking differences between the sexes that could explain why ladies are more emotionally aware while blokes have a better sense of direction

If you've ever had an argument with the opposite sex, it may be tempting to conclude that men and women just aren't on the same wavelength. 

Now, a study not only suggests this is indeed the case, but that males and females really are wired differently from birth. 

In what's described as one of the biggest studies of newborn brain anatomy, scientists performed head scans of more than 500 babies.  

Overall, the female babies had more grey matter in their brains, while the males had more white matter. 

Grey matter is mostly found on the outer-most layer of the brain, or cortex, and plays a big role in mental functions, such as memory, emotions and processing information.

Meanwhile, white matter, the paler tissue towards the centre, speeds up signals between the cells and plays a critical role in helping the body process information. 

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, suggest that these sex-based differences extend into adulthood.  

However, whether there's significant differences between male and female brains is a hotly-debated matter. 

'Several of the sex differences we found at birth do, indeed, appear to extend into adulthood,' lead author Yumnah Khan told MailOnline. 

Some evidence already suggests that women have more grey matter in their brains than men, but whether this difference exists since birth has been 'underexplored'. 

To find out more, the team studied data from the Developing Human Connectome Project, a collaboration between King's College London, Imperial College London and the University of Oxford. 

They looked at sex differences in brain volumes in 514 newborns aged 0 to 28 days (236 females and 278 males). 

Infants had received a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan – which uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. 

On average, male brains tended to be greater in volume than female brains, even after sex differences in birth weight were taken into account. 

'We took additional factors into account, such as birth weight, to ensure that these differences are specific to the brain and not due to general size differences between the sexes,' said co-author Dr Alex Tsompanidis at the University of Cambridge.

Looking specifically at grey matter, females on average showed larger volumes in grey matter areas related to memory and emotional regulation. 

Meanwhile, males on average had larger volumes in grey matter areas involved in sensory processing and motor control.

Sensory processing describes the way the body receives and interprets incoming stimuli through our senses, while motor control is simply our ability to regulate or direct our movements. 

So females may be better at recalling and processing memories, while having more emotional awareness.

Meanwhile, males may have a better sense of direction and more awareness of our physical surroundings. 

It's thought these differences develop in the womb but may get more pronounced after birth. 

'Because these sex differences are evident so soon after birth, they might in part reflect biological sex differences during prenatal brain development,' said Khan. 

'[These may] then interact with environmental experiences over time to shape further sex differences in the brain.' 

The study – published in the journal Biology of Sex Differences – is described as the largest to date to investigate brain differences of newborns. 

It counts Simon Baron-Cohen among its authors, director of the University of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre and cousin of the comedian and actor Sacha. 

More than two decades ago, he proposed the extreme male brain theory for autism two decades ago, suggesting that men were better at 'systemising' by finding patterns and rules, while women were better at empathising. 

'These differences do not imply the brains of males and females are better or worse,' said study author Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the University of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre. 

'This research may be helpful in understanding other kinds of neurodiversity, such as the brain in children who are later diagnosed as autistic, since this is diagnosed more often in males.' 

The question of whether male and female brains significantly differ in adulthood has long divided researchers. 

Back in 2021, experts at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science reported that brain anatomy between the sexes hardly differs at all. 

'Men and women's brains do differ slightly, but the key finding is that these distinctions are due to brain size, not sex or gender,' said lead author Dr Lise Eliot.

'Sex differences in the brain are tiny and inconsistent, once individuals' head size is accounted for.' 

However, a 2013 study at University of Pennsylvania found 'striking' differences in the neural wiring of men and women. 

Meanwhile, a 2017 study found women have 'more active brains than men', especially in the prefrontal cortex, involved with focus and impulse control.