Science has long known that with age, the metabolism in the brain slows down. According to recent data, women in this regard are aging more slowly than men. The female brain is 3 years younger than the male. To determine the age of the brain, scientists used studies that measure glucose uptake by nerve cells.
How did scientists determine that the female brain is younger than the male?
The brain in men "ticks" differently than in women. Scientists in recent years have indeed found evidence of gender differences in the work of this body.
Women feel more stressed and more prone to depression. According to statistics, men are more forgetful and suffer more often from dementia.
According to one theory, women have a younger brain than men. To track possible gender differences in brain age, experts focused on one important aspect - metabolism.
Throughout life, the use of an energy source - "glucose" - changes in the brain. Infants and children use most of this sugar compound for "aerobic glycolysis." This path is necessary for the development and maturation of the brain.
However, with age, the amount of sugar used for this process becomes less and less. At the age of 60, almost no sugar enters glycolysis.
According to this parameter, you can approach the age of the person. In particular, experts examined the brain activity of subjects using positron emission tomography (PET). This allowed them to determine the amount of sugar that went into aerobic glycolysis.
To study volunteers, scientists have developed a learning algorithm that recognizes the relationship between brain metabolism and age. A research team from the Institute of Radiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine studied 205 participants aged 20 to about 90 years. It was checked how much sugar and oxygen each brain consumes.
Using a computer program that can determine the relationship between brain metabolism and age, the researchers came to certain conclusions. First, the program was trained to determine the age of men, and then women.
Result: The program estimated that the woman was on average 4 years younger. To check the results, artificial intelligence also rated the male brain: men were rated 3 years older.
Why does the female brain age more slowly than the male?
Estrogens are female sex hormones that explain the "youth" of the brain. In adolescence, “cerebral circulation patterns” in male adolescents change faster.
A man’s brain does not age faster all the time. A man begins an adult life with a brain that is 3 years older in terms of metabolism. Changes in the central nervous system occur in adolescents much faster than those in women.
Therefore, in adolescence, a man “ages” much faster than a woman.
After 19 years of age, the rate of "aging" is approximately the same in both men and women.
The results may explain why women often perform better memorization tasks than males. They also have much better imagination and other cognitive abilities, as scientists emphasize.
Are women less likely to suffer from senile dementia?
It seems that older women are less susceptible to signs of dementia because their brain is actually younger. Brain metabolism, aging, and memory impairment are interconnected.
Scientists are just beginning to understand how gender factors influence the aging process of the brain. However, they emphasize that the difference between men and women is obvious, but it should not be overestimated. This factor accounts for only a small fraction of the behavioral differences between any two people.
Researchers conclude that women seem to have a younger brain than men. As studies show, the women's thinking organs measured by this parameter are younger. This difference, surprisingly, manifests itself at an early age. She could explain why older women are less prone to mental and neurological disorders.
