View source for Sex differences in memory

{{primary sources|date=December 2021}}
{{Sex differences|File=Brain stem normal human.svg}}

Although there are many [[physiology|physiological]] and [[psychology|psychological]] [[sex differences in humans|gender differences]] in humans, [[memory]], in general, is fairly stable across the sexes. By studying the specific instances in which males and females demonstrate differences in memory, we are able to further understand the brain structures and functions associated with memory.

It is within specific experimental trials that differences appear, such as methods of [[recall (memory)|recalling]] past events, explicit facial [[emotion recognition]] tasks, and [[neuroimaging]] studies regarding size and activation of different brain regions. Research seems to focus especially on gender differences in [[explicit memory]]. Like many other nuances of the human psyche, these differences are studied with the goal of lending insight to a greater understanding of the human brain.

==History of research==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2022}}
Perceptions of gender differences in [[cognition|cognitive abilities]] date back to ancient Greece, when the early physician [[Hippocrates]] dubbed the term '[[female hysteria|hysteria]]' or 'wandering womb' to account for emotional instability and mental illness in women.<ref name = "hysteria">{{cite journal |doi=10.2174/1745017901208010110 |title=Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health |year=2012 |last1=Tasca |first1=Cecilia |journal=Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health |volume=8 |pages=110–9 |pmid=23115576 |last2=Rapetti |first2=M |last3=Carta |first3=MG |last4=Fadda |first4=B |pmc=3480686}}</ref> This diagnosis survived up until the mid-19th century and the beginning of the [[women's suffrage|women's suffrage movement]], and was used as evidence for women's inability to handle intellectual work.<ref name = "hysteria"/> Prominent physicians of this era, including neurologist [[Sigmund Freud]], argued that women were biologically suited to homemaking and housework, as they did not have enough blood to power both the brain and the uterus. When women began attending university in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, opponents asserted that the high demands of post-secondary education on the female brain would render women sterile.

The mass entrance of women into the workplace during [[World War I]] to replace the conscripted men fighting overseas, provided a turning point for views on women's cognitive abilities. Having demonstrated that they were capable of functioning in the workplace, women gained the right to vote in post-war [[United States]], [[Canada]], and the [[United Kingdom]]. Though women were able to vote and hold paid employment, they were still not regarded as intellectually equal to men. The development of the [[encephalization quotient]] by Harry Jerison in 1973 seemed to confirm popular beliefs and about women's cognitive abilities; this quotient was one of the first means of indirectly measuring [[brain size]], and it demonstrated that women have, on average, smaller brain areas than men.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jocn.2005.02.013 |title=Cerebral cortex: An MRI-based study of volume and variance with age and sex |year=2006 |last1=Carne |first1=Ross P. |last2=Vogrin |first2=Simon |last3=Litewka |first3=Lucas |last4=Cook |first4=Mark J. |journal=Journal of Clinical Neuroscience |volume=13 |pages=60–72 |pmid=16410199 |issue=1|s2cid=20486422 }}</ref>

== Specific areas of memory ==
{{Cite check section|date=December 2021}}

The results from research on sex differences in memory are mixed and inconsistent, as some studies show no difference, and others show a female or male advantage.<ref name="Lee">Ellis, Lee, Sex differences: summarizing more than a century of scientific research, CRC Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-8058-5959-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8058-5959-1}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Sex differences in specific domains of memory
|-
! Memory domain !! Better-performing sex !! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
| [[Episodic memory]] (overall) || Female || {{r|Lee}}|<ref name="Halpern 2012">{{cite book|last1=Halpern|first1=Diane F.|title=Sex differences in cognitive abilities|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9781848729414|edition=4}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2013}} <!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| [[Episodic memory]] for masculine events{{clarify |date=November 2016 |reason='masculine' events should be explained}} || Male || {{citation needed|date=December 2021}}<!-- This potentially was meant to be cited to Voyer, Voyer and Saint-Aubin, 2017 -->
|-
| Memory for faces<!-- Alphabetised as "faces" --> || Female || {{r|Lee|Halpern 2012}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}} <!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| Memory for names<!-- Alphabetised as "names" --> || Female || {{r|Lee|Halpern 2012}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}} <!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| [[Olfactory memory]] || Female || {{r|Lee|Halpern 2012}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}} <!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| Rate of age-related memory decline || No difference || {{r|Lee}}
|-
| [[Semantic memory]] based on general knowledge in different areas || Male || <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tran |first1=Ulrich S. |last2=Hofer |first2=Agnes A. |last3=Voracek |first3=Martin |title=Sex Differences in General Knowledge: Meta-Analysis and New Data on the Contribution of School-Related Moderators among High-School Students |journal=PLOS ONE |date=27 October 2014 |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=e110391 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0110391 |pmid=25347190 |pmc=4210204 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...9k0391T |doi-access=free }}<!-- This meta-analysis has been misconstrued. --></ref> 
|-
| [[Short-term memory]] || No difference || {{r|Lee}}
|-
| Memory for sounds(melodies)<!-- Alphabetised as "sounds" --><!-- This is not referring to echoic memory (aka auditory memory), which is a sensory store -->|| Female || {{r|Lee|Halpern 2012}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miles |first1=Scott A. |last2=Miranda |first2=Robbin A. |last3=Ullman |first3=Michael T. |date=2016 |title=Sex Differences in Music: A Female Advantage at Recognizing Familiar Melodies |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=7 |pages=278 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00278 |doi-access=free |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=4771742 |pmid=26973574}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2013}}<!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| [[Spatial memory]] (overall) || Male || <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Voyer |first1=Daniel |last2=Voyer |first2=Susan D. |last3=Saint-Aubin |first3=Jean |title=Sex differences in visual-spatial working memory: A meta-analysis |journal=Psychonomic Bulletin & Review |date=April 2017 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=307–334 |doi=10.3758/s13423-016-1085-7 |pmid=27357955 |s2cid=37931791 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| [[Spatial memory]] for location of objects (overall) || Female || {{r|Lee|Halpern 2012}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}} <!--Not sure which of these two sources is for this claim, but it's definitely one of them.-->
|-
| [[Spatial memory]] for location of distant objects || Male || {{r|Voyer 2007}}
|-
| [[Spatial memory]] for location of male objects{{clarify |date=December 2021 |reason="male" objects should be explained}} || Male || <ref name="Voyer 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Voyer |first1=Daniel |last2=Postma |first2=Albert |last3=Brake |first3=Brandy |last4=Imperato-McGinley |first4=Julianne |title=Gender differences in object location memory: A meta-analysis |journal=Psychonomic Bulletin & Review |date=February 2007 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=23–38 |doi=10.3758/bf03194024 |pmid=17546728 |s2cid=44658445 |doi-access=free |type=Meta-analysis}}</ref>
|-
| [[Verbal memory]] || Female || <ref name="Li2014">{{Cite journal|title = Why women see differently from the way men see? A review of sex differences in cognition and sports|journal = Journal of Sport and Health Science|date = 1 September 2014|pmc = 4266559|pmid = 25520851|pages = 155–162|volume = 3|issue = 3|doi = 10.1016/j.jshs.2014.03.012|first = Rena|last = Li |type=Review}}</ref>
|-
| [[Visual memory|Memory of visual stimuli]] (overall) || No difference || {{r|Lee}}
|}

===Short-term memory===
Women have consistently demonstrated a stronger [[short-term memory]] than men on tests.<ref name="Nadal">{{Cite book |last=Nadal|first=Kevin L. |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781483384276 |page=342 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA342}}</ref> This is supported by data that gauges learning ability in terms of [[word list]]s and the development of strategies that improve the ability to learn new things and impede interference;<ref name="Nadal"/> however, there is also data that indicates that men are better at short-term memory tasks than women when visual stimuli is a factor, but this research lacks consistency.<ref name="Nadal"/>

===Autobiographical memory===
{{excerpt|Autobiographical memory|Effects of gender}}

==Memory loss==

Research suggests that there may be gendered differences in rates of memory decline. While research on the subject has not always been consistent,{{Clarify|reason=Inconsistent in what way?|date=January 2022}} it's clear that men and women experience significantly different rates of memory decline throughout their life.

It was once decided that the difference in memory decline between genders was due to the typically longer lifespan of a woman,{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} however, this has since been disproven. The difference between the lifespan of a male and female is not great enough to explain the additional onset of memory decline from disease that woman experience.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Small|first=Gary W|date=2002-06-22|title=What we need to know about age-related memory loss|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal |volume=324|issue=7352 |pages=1502–1505 |issn=0959-8138 |pmc=1123445 |pmid=12077041|doi=10.1136/bmj.324.7352.1502 |type=Review}}</ref>

== Alzheimer's disease ==

As men and women age, dementia become more likely to manifest. Dementia has been reported to affect up to 5% of people over the age of 65. Of the different types of dementia, Alzheimer's disease is the most common, accounting for up to 65% of dementia cases.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ritchie|first1=Karen|last2=Lovestone|first2=Simon|date=November 2002|title=The dementias|journal=The Lancet |language=en |volume=360|issue=9347 |pages=1759–1766|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11667-9|pmid=12480441|s2cid=21404062}}</ref>{{Better source needed |date=January 2022|reason=The current source is a seminar paper, not a review/meta-analysis of global prevalence.}} Research into the disease is ongoing, but there appears to be evidence supporting the claim that Alzheimer's manifests differently between the sexes. There is also evidence that Alzheimer's disease is more common in women than in men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Viña|first1=Jose|last2=Lloret|first2=Ana|date=2010|title=Why women have more Alzheimer's disease than men: gender and mitochondrial toxicity of amyloid-beta peptide|journal=Journal of Alzheimer's Disease|volume=20|issue=Suppl 2 |pages=S527–533|doi=10.3233/JAD-2010-100501|issn=1875-8908|pmid=20442496|doi-access=free|type=Review}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2022|reason=The current source is from a supplement issue, and may not have been subject to the journal's usual level of peer review.}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Podcasy|first1=Jessica L. |last2=Epperson|first2=C. Neill |date=2016|title=Considering sex and gender in Alzheimer disease and other dementias |journal=Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience |volume=18|issue=4 |pages=437–446 |doi=10.31887/DCNS.2016.18.4/cepperson |issn=1294-8322 |pmc=5286729|pmid=28179815|type=Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2017-10-01|title=Prevalencia e incidencia de la enfermedad de Alzheimer en Europa: metaanálisis |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0213485316300032 |journal=Neurología |language=es |volume=32 |issue=8 |pages=523–532 |doi=10.1016/j.nrl.2016.02.016 |issn=0213-4853|hdl=2454/25704|hdl-access=free|last1=Niu |first1=H. |last2=Álvarez-Álvarez |first2=I. |last3=Guillén-Grima |first3=F. |last4=Aguinaga-Ontoso |first4=I. |pmid=27130306 }}</ref>

Multiple studies have found that there is a significant difference in the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease that affect the sexes. Some of these behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include depression, anxiety, dysphoria, nighttime disturbances, and aggression. Several recent studies have found that women tend to exhibit symptoms such as depression and anxiety more often than men.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Nebel|first1=Rebecca A.|last2=Aggarwal|first2=Neelum T.|last3=Barnes|first3=Lisa L. |last4=Gallagher|first4=Aimee |last5=Goldstein|first5=Jill M.|last6=Kantarci|first6=Kejal|last7=Mallampalli|first7=Monica P. |last8=Mormino|first8=Elizabeth C. |last9=Scott|first9=Laura|last10=Yu|first10=Wai Haung|last11=Maki|first11=Pauline M. |date=2018-09-01 |title=Understanding the impact of sex and gender in Alzheimer's disease: A call to action |url=https://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/article/S1552-5260(18)30130-4/abstract |journal=Alzheimer's & Dementia |language=en |volume=14|issue=9 |pages=1171–1183 |doi=10.1016/j.jalz.2018.04.008 |issn=1552-5260|pmc=6400070|pmid=29907423 |type=Review}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Toro|first1=Carlos A. |last2=Zhang|first2=Larry |last3=Cao|first3=Jiqing |last4=Cai|first4=Dongming |date=2019-09-15 |title=Sex differences in Alzheimer's disease: Understanding the molecular impact |journal=Brain Research |volume=1719 |pages=194–207 |doi=10.1016/j.brainres.2019.05.031 |issn=0006-8993 |pmc=6750802 |pmid=31129153 |type=Review}}</ref> One study has even gone as far as to suggest that having depression at any point during midlife increases chances of Alzheimer's Disease developing later by up to 70%.<ref name=":2" /> Men, on the other hand, exhibit symptoms such as aggression and other socially inappropriate behaviors more often. In addition, it has been found that men are more likely to have coronary artery disease which has been known to damage the blood brain barrier (BBB) by causing micro vascular lesions. Damage to the blood brain barrier seems to be connected to cognitive decline and several forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease.<ref name=":3" /> Women with Alzheimer's disease also have more serious cognitive impairments in many indicators compared to men.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Laws|first1=Keith R. |last2=Irvine|first2=Karen |last3=Gale|first3=Tim M. |date=2018|title=Sex differences in Alzheimer's disease |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29324460/|journal=Current Opinion in Psychiatry |volume=31|issue=2 |pages=133–139 |doi=10.1097/YCO.0000000000000401 |issn=1473-6578 |pmid=29324460 |s2cid=20810478 |type=Review}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Laws|first1=Keith R|last2=Irvine|first2=Karen|last3=Gale|first3=Tim M|date=2016-03-22|title=Sex differences in cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease|journal=World Journal of Psychiatry |volume=6|issue=1 |pages=54–65 |doi=10.5498/wjp.v6.i1.54 |issn=2220-3206|pmc=4804268 |pmid=27014598 |type=Review |doi-access=free }}</ref> Also, a number of studies of people with Alzheimer's disease have found a greater brain or cognitive reserve in men.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Irvine|first1=Karen |last2=Laws|first2=Keith R. |last3=Gale|first3=Tim M.|last4=Kondel|first4=Tejinder K.|date=2012|title=Greater cognitive deterioration in women than men with Alzheimer's disease: a meta analysis |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22913619/ |journal=Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology |volume=34|issue=9 |pages=989–998 |doi=10.1080/13803395.2012.712676|issn=1744-411X|pmid=22913619|s2cid=28300240 }}</ref>

Another contributing factor to differences in Alzheimer's progression between the sexes may be socioeconomic status (SES). Men, historically, have had better opportunities to obtain an education and increase their SES. In recent years, women are being afforded many of the same opportunities, which may explain why there appears to be a decrease of instances of dementia in women related to SES factors.<ref name=":2" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Evolutionary psychology}}

[[Category:Cognitive psychology]]
[[Category:Sex differences in psychology]]