The Male Brain

When first glancing at this title, most of you may think what I thought… Well I can sum up that organ in one sentence: It does whatever the penis tells it to.  And to a certain extent this is true.  Last year I read a book called The Female Brain by Dr. LouAnn Brizendine (an accomplished neuropsychologist) and it was incredible. It made me understand a lot about why females act the way they do, especially when interacting with men.  I have read it twice, some sections three times, and I consider it my bible. Those of you who know me well, know that boy drama consumes my life… on a daily basis.  So, when The Male Brain was released a few weeks ago, I was ecstatic.  I want to share with you some fun tidbits from the book.

A significant proportion of the information Dr. Brizendine shares is fairly well known. For example:

“In reality, the male brain is a lean, mean problem-solving machine.”

This is fairly common knowledge, but the key is learning how to use it to manipulate your significant other into feeling good about himself.  I’ve found that playing dumb and letting boys fix electronics or teach you how to use a hammer makes them feel smart, useful, and proud of themselves.  So, even if you know how to change a flat tire, or hook up a surround sound system… sometimes letting your man do it, will come back to benefit you in the long run.

“We also know that men have two and a half times the brain space devoted to sexual drive in their hypothalamus. Sexual thoughts flicker in the background of a man’s visual cortex all day and night, making him always at the ready for seizing sexual opportunity.”

All females know that men think about sex every second of everyday.  But the book explained that this is because they actually have a crap ton of brain space devoted to it.  So, next time you are being talked into some hanky-panky and don’t feel up to it, just let your guy know that it isn’t your fault you aren’t always in the mood. You have half the brain space devoted to sexual drive than he does. And at the same time, try not to give him a hard time for having thoughts consistently in the gutter… he was actually designed that way.

The next thing I learned is something I don’t think most men should know… because they will abuse the information. But it may prevent you from getting upset the next time a guy you care about is caught checking out another woman.

“…the lust center in the male brain automatically directs men to notice and visually take in the details of attractive females. When they see one that lights up their sexual circuit board, their brain instantly produces a quick sexual thought, but then it’s usually over.” To a male’s brain a “buxom woman is like a bright, colorful hummingbird. She flies into the line of vision, catches his attention for a few seconds, then flies off and out of his mind. For many men this can happen several times a day… He couldn’t have stopped his eyes from looking at her breasts even if he’d tried. BUT he could learn to be more discreet.  Because this is an autopilot behavior for the male brain, men don’t think it’s a big deal, and they can’t understand why women find it so threatening.”

Something new that I found interesting was the significance of a kiss. For me, a bad kisser is a deal breaker. If you can’t kiss well, then there will be no future dates, conversations, or make out sessions. Now I know why:

“In the mating game, a kiss is more than a kiss – it’s a taste test.  Saliva contains molecules from all the glands and organs in the body, so a French kiss serves up our signature flavor. As soon as Ryan’s tongue touched Nicole’s information about each other’s health and genes was collected and secretly sent to their brains. If Nicole had genes that were too similar to his and the kiss tasted sour, it could have been a sexual deal-breaker. (The evolutionary reason for this is because in-breeding among individuals leads to health problems that make it more difficult for males’ genes to continue reproducing.) But the kiss was sweet; it led to another and then another. Scientists have learned that there is plenty of bioactive testosterone in men’s saliva, enough that it may activate the sexual-arousal center in a woman’s brain."

SOOO… kissing is obviously important, men are biologically designed to think about sex literally every second of the day (they aren’t all perverts), they can’t help looking at beautiful women, and men are wired to solve problems. I hope this sheds some light on your relationships and helps you understand the male brain a little bit better!