gender discrimination it has many psychological implications, but also remains physically recorded. In fact, according to a study just published in PNASIt can generate changes in the brain of women.
This is the conclusion reached by the authors of the study. after comparing MRI images of men and women in countries with different levels of gender inequality. Thus, they saw that in countries with greater equity, there were almost no brain differenceswhile in those that showed clear disparities, there were some specific areas in which the female brain was significantly thinner.
These scientists decided to explore this topic for two reasons. On the one hand, since brain changes have already been found in bullied children and discrimination, so the same can happen to women. And, on the other hand, because there has already been a study in which the brains of boys and girls from different states USA, taking into account the levels of discrimination in each of them. This new study is consistent in its results. But let’s see how they got there.
The effect of discrimination on the brain
For this study, we analyzed 7876 MRI images of 139 test specimens in 29 countries.. All of them belonged to men and women aged from from 18 to 32 years old. The authors also had data on inequality indices in the countries involved, so they set out to look for relationships between these measures and possible differences in brain thickness.
Thus, they saw that in countries with a low level of discrimination, there was no Differences between men and women. Just a slight superiority in the latter, but nothing significant.
However, those with high discrimination indices had differences, as women had less thickness in three areas of the cerebral cortex: right caudal anterior cingulate gyrus, right orbitofrontal gyrus, and left lateral occipital cortex. These are areas that are associated with emotional resilience and play an important role in depression. In addition, they have also been observed to be affected in child victims of bullying.
A self-fulfilling prophecy?
The authors of this study want to explore whether these differences really imply differences in behavior or cognition men and women. If yes, then it could be what is known as self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, women are discriminated against because they are perceived to be less suitable for certain tasks, and this is what can make them less suitable.
It will be a vicious circle that will once again demonstrate the harmful effects of discrimination. We now know that it also affects the brain. What other effects should we be aware of?
Source: Hiper Textual
