Table Of Content

T he F emale B rain is one of the most-talked-about books of the year. “I’ve found I can change the conversation at any social gathering by mentioning Louann Brizendine’s book, The Female Brain.” —David Brooks, New York Times “Feminists should celebrate: Finally someone is taking women’s health seriously and has done a thorough study of the female brain.. . . Yet undoubtedly this book will make feminists vested in denying sex dif- ferences uncomfortable.” —Washington Times “The author’s greatest gift to her readers is the way she takes us through the stages of a woman’s life to show the influence of hormone levels on every decision.” —Los Angeles Times “[Brizendine] seamlessly weaves together the findings of innumer- able articles and books, both technical and popular, along with accounts of patients she treated at her clinic. . . . Given the character— and rancor—of our dichotomous approach to the influences of biology and culture, readers likely will be fascinated or angered, con- vinced or skeptical, according to the positions they have staked out already.” —Deborah Tannen, Washington Post “Her conclusions will seem like common sense to some and nothing short of heresy to others. . . . Her ideas are certain to spark contro- versy from some doctors and social scientists who think books like this undercut women and reinforce old gender stereotypes.” —Newsweek “Brizendine calls The Female Brain an ‘owner’s manual’ for women, but it’s worth a look for men, too—even though we’re hardwired not to read the instructions.” —Toronto Sun “Part road map for women looking for scientific explanations for their behavior, part geeky manual for relationship woes . . . Brizendine is at her best when describing the neurochemical underpinnings of pas- sionate love.” —San Francisco Chronicle “A wonderful new book . . . Brizendine’s book shares how women’s brains and hormones cause us to value different things during different stages of our lives, which can affect everything from career deci- sions to who we fall in love with.” —Gannett News Service “It’s bloody brilliant.. . . It’s answered not only the questions that have plagued me for years, but it’s answered questions I hadn’t even for- mulated yet. I am so not kidding. . . . I’m just glad to have a book that is not only fascinating, it makes me feel less insane.” —The Huffington Post “Brizendine lays out the key stages of life in eight juicy chapters, solidly useful wherever you are on her timeline. I wish I’d been able to read ‘Why the Teen Girl Brain Freaks’ at puberty. Of course, knowledge is power . . .” —Bust magazine “A trove of information, as well as some stunning insights . . . While this book will be of interest to anyone who wonders why men and women are so different, it will be particularly useful for women and parents of girls.” —Publishers Weekly “This book should be required reading for all women, and it wouldn’t hurt for men to give it a glance as well.” —Pilot (North Carolina) “Brizendine is onto something. . . . This is going to be a bumpy ride.” —William Booth, Washington Post he emale rain T F B Louann Brizendine, M.D. B r o a d way B o oks N ew Y ork published by broadway books Copyright © 2006 by Louann Brizendine All Rights Reserved A hardcover edition of this book was originally published in 2006 by Morgan Road Books. Published in the United States by Broadway Books, an imprint of The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.broadwaybooks.com broadway books and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. This book is not intended to take the place of medical advice from a trained medical professional. Readers are advised to consult a physician or other qualified health professional regarding treatment of their medical problems. Neither the publisher nor the author takes any responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, action, or application of medicine, herb, or preparation to any person reading or following the information in this book. Book design by Pauline Neuwirth, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brizendine, Louann, 1952– The female brain / Louann Brizendine. p. cm. 1. Brain—Physiology. 2. Brain—Psychology. 3. Women. I. Title. QP376.B755 2006 612.8—dc22 2006040765 eISBN: 978-0-7679-2841-0 v1.0 For my husband, Samuel Barondes, My son, John Whitney Brizendine, And in loving memory of Louise Ann Brizendine CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: What Makes Us Women 1 ONE The Birth of the Female Brain 11 TWO Teen Girl Brain 31 THREE Love and Trust 57 FOUR Sex: The Brain Below the Belt 77 FIVE The Mommy Brain 95 SIX Emotion: The Feeling Brain 117 SEVEN The Mature Female Brain 135 EPILOGUE The Future of the Female Brain 159 vii C ontents APPENDIX ONE: The Female Brain and Hormone Therapy 165 APPENDIX TWO: The Female Brain and Postpartum Depression 181 APPENDIX THREE: The Female Brain and Sexual Orientation 185 NOTES 189 REFERENCES 211 INDEX 271 viii AC KNOW LEDGMENTS This book had its beginnings during my educational years at the University of California, Berkeley; Yale; Harvard; and University Col- lege, London, so I would like to thank the teachers and fellow students who most influenced my thinking during those years: Frank Beach, Mina Bissel, Henry Black, Bill Bynum, Dennis Charney, Marion Dia- mond, Marilyn Farquar, Carol Gilligan, Paul Greengard, Tom Guteil, Les Havens, Florence Haseltine, Marjorie Hayes, Peter Hornick, Stan- ley Jackson, Valerie Jacoby, Kathleen Kells, Kathy Kelly, Adrienne Larkin, Howard Levitin, Mel Lewis, Charlotte McKenzie, David Mann, Daniel Mazia, William Meissner, Jonathan Muller, Fred Naftolin, George Palade, Roy Porter, Sherry Ryan, Carl Salzman, Leon Shapiro, Rick Shelton, Gunter Stent, Frank Thomas, Janet Thompson, George Vaillant, Roger Wallace, Clyde Willson, Fred Wilt, and Richard Woll- heim. During my years on the faculty at Harvard and the University of California, San Francisco, my thinking has been influenced by Bruce Ames, Cori Bargmann, Regina Casper, Francis Crick, Mary Dallman, Herb Goldings, Deborah Grady, Joel Kramer, Fernand Labrie, Jeanne Leventhal, Sindy Mellon, Michael Merzenich, Joseph Morales, Eu- gene Roberts, Laurel Samuels, Carla Shatz, Stephen Stahl, Elaine Storm, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Rebecca Turner, Victor Viau, Owen Wolkowitz, and Chuck Yingling. My colleagues, staff, residents, medical students, and patients in the Women’s and Teen Girls’ Mood and Hormone Clinic have contributed in many ways to this work: Denise Albert, Raya Almufti, Amy Berlin, ix