Book Review: The Female Brain

So my closest friend started to tell me about this book, and how she thought that I would enjoy it. Boy she knows me too well. Also the more I read and listen to people like Paul Chek, I have become more open minded about learning more things. So I decided to go where very few males have gone before 'inside the female brain'.

I have to say that initially I felt the author Louann Brizendine came across as fairly sexist, but the more I read of this book the more her humour, wit, and information grew on me.

Brizendine broke the book down in a very reader friendly way. The chapters where as follows:

Chapter 1:The Birth of the Female Brain

Chapter 2:The Teen Girl Brain

Chapter 3: Love and Trust

Chapter 4: The Brain Below the Belt

Chapter 5: The Mommy Brain

Chapter 6: The Feeling Brain

Chapter 7: The Mature Female Brain

Summary:

Chapter 1: The Birth of the Female Brain

Every brain starts off as a female brain! After 8 weeks, if enough testosterone is produce, it will start to change this female brain into a male brain. The testostrone supposely skrinks the communication centre of the brain, reduces the hearing cortex, and makes the part of the brain that processes sex twice as large. Go figure!!

As babies, females are more observent than males. In the first 3 months a baby girls ability to make eye contact and mutual facial expression will increase by 400% more than boys.

Chapter 2: The Teen Brain:

Talks about how the menstrual cycle can really f#*k things up for females. The menstrual cycle is broken up into two phases: the estrogen phase for the first two weeks of the cycle, and the progesterone phase for the last two weeks cycle.

During the estrogen phase (weeks 1 & 2), a girl is more socially relaxed. There is a 25% growth of the connections in the hippocampus (your memory), and that makes the female brain a little sharper and more alert. The brain fucntions better, and you remember more.

Then in weeks 3 & 4, progesterone starts to come out from the ovaries and begins to reverse the effects of estrogen, acting like a weed killer on the new connections that were made with the hippocampus. the brain becomes more sedated at first, then gradually more irritable, less focused, and then a little slower.

In the last few days of the cycle, progesteronr collapses and its calming affect is withdrawn. This leaves the brain momentarily upset, stressed, and irritable. Bascially this is where the shit can hit the fan!!

Chapter 3: Love and trust

In this chapter Brizendine states that women are more cautious than men when starting out in a relationship. Women for the most part look for long-term security out of a relationship (can this male provide for a family, and keep us safe), more so then men. She claims that not much has changed since our stone age days.

She talks about the high levels of oxytocin (feel-good hormone) is very high in the initial phases of a relationship. This is why people can crave for one another when they are apart. Oxytocin can also supresses anxiety and skepticism, reinforcing ones feelings for their partner. This can be achieved by kissing, hugging, and well you know yourself.

She finally goes on to talk about in some brain-imaging studies that, emotional pain triggers the same circuits in the brain as physical pain.

Chapter 4: The Brain Below the Belt:

Brizendine states that women need to be completely relaxed to be able to have an orgasm. If the female cannot relax this will shut off the hormones that are release in order for her to have an orgasm.

Chapter 5: The Mommy Brain:

Brizendine talks about how females can get so obsessed with their babies, that the same happy hormones get release, that where release when they first fell in love with their partner. This is why so many women after giving birth have zero interest in sex, as caring for the child gives them enough satsifaction.

Brizendine states that some mothers actually start to carve for the feeling of breast feeding, as this again starts to release the happy hormones that are released during sex.

Chapter 6: The Feeling Brain:

Brizendine states that in general women are better are detecting one's feelings. Men only pick up subtle signs of sadness 40% of the time, where as women pick it up 90%.

Chapetr 7: The Mature Female Brain

This was the chapter I liked the most. Brizendine talked about that when a woman reaches post-menopause, and all her children are grown-up, that she starts to finally care more about herself then others. She finally does what she wants to do. This is why women over fifty are more likely to initiate devoce than a man.

Conclusion:

I think this a great book for any who trains, is married too, or is friends with females. The book goes into the physiology more than I did here, which is what I really did like about it also. What hormones are being release with this type of reaction and so forth.

Well there you have it. The Female Brain!

Stay Strong,

RB