Although more than 99% of female and male genetic coding is exactly the same, it seems that 1% for a lot and may explain a few things.
For example, it could explain why women can keep their homes (but not their cars) shiny and spotless, while men, on the other hand, have a knack for noticing fine dust particles in the car over piles of dirty dishes in the sink!
The male brain is approximately nine percent larger than the female brain, but both have the same number of brain cells; women's are simply arranged more densely.
So what are some of the other unique features of the female brain?
The menstrual brain
According to Dr Brizendine, the brain changes every day in menstruating women, and some parts even change up to 25 percent throughout the month.
Hormones affect the female brain so profoundly that women can sometimes feel like they are living in an alternate reality! Confident, happy and productive women may suddenly feel pessimistic before and during menstruation.
The negative brain
In the female brain, the region known as the anterior cingulate cortex, which is critical for anticipating, judging, controlling and integrating negative emotions, is larger than in the male brain.
This region is also more easily activated in females (which perhaps explains why women can sometimes be bigger worriers than men).
The instinctive brain
Is it just stereotyping, or are women actually more instinctive and more connected to a gut feeling?
Brain scan studies suggest that the areas involved in the more instinctive or gut responses are larger and more sensitive in the female brain.
The emotive brain
Male and female brains appear vastly different in how they respond to emotion.
Research suggests that women use both sides of the brain when responding to emotion, and men use just one. The connections between emotional centres in the female brain appear to be more active and extensive than those of males.
Did you know?
Up until eight weeks of gestation, every brain is female.
Dr Brizendine states that all brains look female until approximately eight weeks. In males, a surge of testosterone then hits, causing changes to create the male brain.
‘Mummy brain' – it's a real phenomenon.
We've all heard pregnant women bemoan their brain power, quoting "mummy brain" or "pregnancy brain". According to Brizendine, the brain shrinks in pregnancy - it doesn't lose brain cells but it changes in metabolism and restructuring occurs.
Menopause – it's brain changing too.
In addition to being responsible for hot flushes, hormonal changes in menopause affect the brain as well. Brizendine highlights that the transition through perimenopause (the two to nine years before menopause) can be a time of vulnerability to mood instability and irritability because of the brain's changes in estrogen and stress sensitivity.