Women’s brains smaller than men’s, but used more efficiently

A new study has revealed that while female brains are smaller than those of males, females use their brains more efficiently, achieving the same results.

A team of neuroscientists from the University of California and Madrid studied the discrepancies between the male and female brains. They specifically focused on a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is a center of emotional and memory function, according to the Daily Mail.

A larger hippocampus in males results in an increased presence of neurons, leading to a higher intelligence in men, the researchers said. In women, however, it appeared that the smaller the hippocampus was, the smarter the woman would be by using less energy and fewer brain cells to achieve the same results a man does. This led researchers to believe that the brain matter of women operates in a more efficient manner.

The study found that while female brains are typically eight percent smaller than those of males, they were of equal intelligence.

"At this structural level, females might show greater efficiency requiring less neural material for achieving behavioral results on a par with males," the researchers wrote.

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