Androgynous brains

We discovered that brains were indeed distributed across the entire continuum rather than just at the two ends. In a subsample, approximately 25% of brains were identified as male, 25% as female and 50% were distributed across the androgynous section of the continuum. What’s more, we found that participants who mapped at the centre of this continuum, representing androgyny, had fewer mental health symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, compared with those at the two extreme ends.

These findings support our novel hypothesis that there exists a neuroimaging concept of brain androgyny, which may be associated with better mental health in a similar way to psychological androgyny.
Why androgyny benefits us

To learn new things in order to adapt to the ever-changing global environment, we need to be able to be attentive to the world around us. We must also have mental wellbeing, flexibility and be able to employ a wide range of life strategies.

These skills enable us to rapidly understand external context and decide on the optimal response. They help us take advantage of time-limited opportunities and instil resilience. Therefore, these skills confer an advantage for people with androgynous brains, with others being less likely to flourish.

Authors: Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Cambridge;Christelle Langley, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge;Qiang Luo, Associate Principal Investigator of Neuroscience, Fudan University, and Yi Zhang, Visiting Phd Candidate, University of Cambridge

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