Front cover of The Female Brain by Lou Ann Brizendine.

According to the new book The Female Brain by author Lou Ann Brizendine, women tend to remember the emotional events of their lives better than men because women’s brains are structured differently and contain a different set of chemicals than their male counterparts. The book cited scientific studies that used PET and MRI scans to support this conclusion. The authors also cited over 60 pages of references to support her findings.

In this regard, the book said that the main difference between men and women is that women’s brains had a larger hippocampus, which is the organ in the brain that stores emotions and produces memory formation. Women’s brains also have larger areas for language than men. The book said that these differences are more pronounced during the eighth week of pregnancy when the female brain experiences a testosterone surge.

On the other hand and not surprisingly, men were found to have larger brain areas for aggression and action. Brizendrine also revealed that men’s brains also have 2½ times more space than women’s brains for the sexual drive.

Here are some of the other interesting revelations in the book:

- Men experience love at first sight more easily than women, according to the chapter on “Love and Trust”

- Women are more attracted to “symmetrical” men because such men are said to give them better and more frequent orgasm, according to the chapter on sex and citing the results of a study involving 86 sexually active 22 year old couples

- Handsome and symmetrical men tend to be more unfaithful and cheat more often than men with “less well-balanced bodies.”

On the last item, it appears that women now face a tough choice: to either have a great sex life with a handsome, symmetrical partner who will likely cheat on them or settle for a “less well-balanced” male who will be faithful but lousy in bed.

Interesting dilemma, don’t you think?