now hear this

Vegetarian Times, May, 2001

Ladies, if it seems that the men in your life just don't listen, it may not be your imagination. New research suggests that the way men listen is decidedly different from the way women listen.

The study, conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, employed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor the brain activity of 10 men and 10 women volunteers who listened to an audiotape of John Grisham's novel The Partner.

Results indicated that the men listened only with their left brain, which controls listening and speech. The women, however, exhibited brain activity in both hemispheres, the significance being that the right side is associated with creativity and imagination. Interestingly, the research team didn't intend to get involved in the battle of the sexes. Instead, they set out to map speech and language centers to guide brain surgeons in their work. Their findings may also help with research regarding how men and women recover from stroke and brain tumors.