Women don't preach - it's no use!

They might have to change the marriage vows from "I do" to "I will listen", if research findings have anything to do with it. Recent research seems to confirm what women have been suspecting all along - men may say they are listening, but in reality they may only be giving it half attention. Men are half brained listeners, suggest researchers from the Indiana University school of Medicine in Indianapolis, USA. The research carried out on 20 men and women, measured their brain activity while they were listening to portions from the John Grisham novel 'The Partner', on tape. The MRIs showed that whereas women used both the left and right hemispheres of their brain, men used only the left. The findings were presented in the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago. The authors however were quick to clarify that difference in language processing does not necessarily mean difference in performance of the two sexes. They also pointed out that this difference could not be construed as one sex being superior to the other. In fact, though women seem to be more adept at listening and processing verbal information more clearly, the fact that they use both sides of the brain may mean that they have to mentally work harder to understand the same information that men perceive with lesser brain involvement. Another theory which could account for women using both sides of the brain for information perception is that, women pay more attention to the emotional aspects of what is being said, than men. This is because they use the right side of the brain which is associated with understanding of spatial relationships. The left part of the brain is concerned with speech and language. Though this research may not help much in improving gender relationships, men can now say whenever they are accused of not listening... "That's how we men are made"!

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