The Neuropsychology of Sex Differences in Human Brain Organization

Over the past decade, the media have focused much interest on the topic of sex differences in cognitive abilities, behavior and human brain organization. As the demand for information increased, so too did the amount of speculation, distortion and oversimplification of the original facts and theories. Indeed, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between the limited knowledge base and the proliferation of non-scientific publications. This paper intends to redress the imbalance by summarizing some important clinical discoveries in the past five years pertaining to sex differences in human brain organization of verbal and spatial abilities (for review of previous data see McGlone, 1980). Emphasis will be placed on prospective studies of neurological patients with localized brain dysfunction caused by disease, surgery, drug injection or direct electrical stimulation.