Boys and girls process language differently

"Although researchers have long agreed that girls have superior language abilities than boys, until now no one has clearly provided a biological basis that may account for their differences.

For the first time -- and in unambiguous findings -- researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks."

The researchers have found that language areas in girls' brains worked harder when they were being tested by reading or auditory means.

In boys' brains, however it was the hearing or visual centers that worked harder, and not the language centers.

Researchers speculate that there may have been an evolutionary advantage to men being able to focus their hearing and sight in avoiding dangers.

But I've been saying that all along.

Tests were run on boys and girls age 9 to 13. They will need to duplicate the experiment on adults in order to make sure that this is not something that children grow out of.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2008)