Bianca Cooley asks Dr. Matoteng Ncube a question after a Statistics class at UWF.

The battle of the sexes is nothing new. Perhaps the best way to answer the question of who is smarter is to take a closer look at the physical brain. Studies show that men and woman use certain parts of the brain in different ways, and some parts are used more in one sex than the other.

William Dee, licensed marriage and family therapist for Counseling and Psychological Associates, traced the behavioral differences between men and women back to their ancestral obligations.

“Historically we can go back archetypically to the hunter and gather,” said Dee. “The primary function of the hunter wasn’t necessarily needing to communicate through verbal language. As a gatherer, it was absolutely necessary to develop communication skills to tell where certain resources would be available.”

One difference between the male and female brain is gray and white matter. According to the July 2003 edition of “Psychology Today,” women tend to have 15 to 20 percent more gray matter than males. Gray matter assists in greater thought-linking capability.

Neurologically, you might say men are single minded. Well, that is because men have more white matter, which is made up of neurons coated in a lipid film. The protected film actually helps keep a single thought from widely spreading throughout the brain. That way, it is easier to concentrate on one thing at a time.

According to cerebromente.org, in 1997, scientists at Johns Hopkins University discovered a particular region in the brain that greatly influences behavior in men and women. It is called the inferior-parietal lobule — a region that tends to be larger in men on the left side.

Studies show that the larger this region is, the better a man will be at math and perception of time, speed and mental rotation of objects. In other words, this is why your significant other can quickly set up furniture in the living room without physically having to move the couch.

Women’s abilities generally come from the right side of the same brain region. This side is associated with understanding and perception of feelings and language.

But that doesn’t mean that men actually exceed women in their mathematical and problem-solving abilities.

Kuiyuan Li, professor and chairman of the Mathematics Department at the University of West Florida, said he does not believe there is a difference in men and women’s ability to perform in math.

“Our female students are doing as well as sometimes even better than male students,” Li said in an e-mail. “This year in our undergraduate program, the highest GPA student is a female. A couple years ago, two of our students graduated with 4.0 GPAs. Both of them were females.”

Matoteng Ncube, professor of statistics at UWF, said the more that women take on math, more women will pursue careers in mathematics.

“They need to continue doing and performing to their best ability using methods that have brought them this far,” Ncube said.

A study published in the Aug. 5, 2006 edition of “The Economist” revealed that on IQ tests, men and women generally have the same results. However, women use both sides of their brain when solving problems.

Men only use the left side. But there is a correlation between mathematical reasoning and temporal-lobe activity. The temporal lobes are part of the cerebellum, which is a region that is crucial for our problem-solving abilities.

Communication barrier

Men and women are neurologically different in many ways, which may greatly contribute to a communication barrier between the sexes.

Dee said one of the biggest problems he sees couples facing is a communication barrier between the sexes.

“Women are not only able to (verbalize feelings), but they are very skilled at it,” he said. “Males are more problem-solution oriented,” he said. “Males don’t give much feedback on what’s going on.”

He said that couples need to develop skills to avoid gridlocks that happen in relationships.

“That is, develop the skills through an awareness and some research and practicing those skills through time,” Dee said. “It’s all about attitude. It’s laser accurate.”

John Roberts said it is important for couples to understand what they are getting into before tying the knot.

“That’s not to say there’s never going to be stress or problems, but you expect that there’s going to be difficulties,” Roberts said. “I think other people don’t realize there are going to be challenges. You’re going to feel tired, sick, not have enough money to do what you want to do.”

Pensacola couple John and Wanda Roberts have been married for 26 years and have five children. Wanda said they have been love for so long because they realize that it’s OK to have different opinions and to go through struggles working them out.

“We just try to concentrate on the good things and qualities,” she said. “And remember to be thankful.”

In fact, they bypass the whole male brain vs. female brain debate entirely, chalking up the success of their marriage to their strong faith.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the thing that holds us together is God,” John Roberts said.

TIPS:

Ways to communicate more effectively with your significant other.

In John Mordechai Gottman’s 1976 text, A Couple’s Guide to Communication, he offers some useful tips to bridging the communication gap.

*Don’t have catastrophic expectations. Many couples hold back their feelings because they fear the other person won’t love him or her back.

*Don’t worry about losing your cool. Express what you are feeling. No one will force you to act in a foreign manner.

*Don’t worry about appearing weak. It’s okay to discuss problems before they erupt into something uncontrollable.

*You can’t believe that you have to be perfect for your partner to appreciate you. Sometimes you have to think about yourself. Once you respect yourself and know what you want, you will be an easier person to love.

Ways to improve brainpower

In Roger B. Yepsen’s book, How to Boost Your Brainpower: Achieving Peak Intelligence, Memory and Creativity, he offers advice on ways to enhance your mind.

*Eat proteins instead of carbohydrates before performing math. Carbohydrates tend to raise the level of a brain chemical that makes you tired.

*Remember that your nervous system continues to grow. Watching TV allows your brain to remain passive. Reading, analyzing, learning a new language or doing anything that requires you to problem solve will help you.

*When learning new information this is difficult to remember, relate it to something you already know. For example, if you have trouble remembering that Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri, think about your annoying friend Jeff. His name sounds like Jefferson. He makes you miserable, and that word sounds like Missouri.