That fits with previous studies in animals and people that suggest males navigate better in an unfamiliar environment. The brain scans found that while both sexes used some of the same parts of the brain for the task, there were also some differences. Riepe and colleagues describe the results in the April issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. One difference involved the hippocampus, a banana-shaped structure deep in the brain that is crucial for navigation. Just last week, other scientists reported that male London taxi drivers show structural changes in the hippocampus, apparently because of their professional experience.
People have a hippocampus in each side of the brain.
Riepe's study found that both sexes used the right hippocampus in negotating the maze. But only men used the left hippocampus. Conversely, women used an outer part of the brain called the right prefrontal cortex, while men in the study didn't. That might reflect differences in how men and women handle information about the space around them, Riepe and colleagues said. The women's activity in the cortex might reflect the effort of keeping landmark cues in mind, while the hippocampus activity in the men might be needed for the geometric approach, the researchers said.