Verbal performances and their relation to the corpus callosum depending on gender

Abstract

Summary. In this study, the size of the corpus callosum of 24 right-handed students was measured using MRI images and was correlated to verbal performance determined by means of ah extensive psychological test battery. The results showed a larger absolute callosal area in males, but there was no gender-related difference in the size when this was related to the total brain. Contrary to expectations, a female superiority in solving verbal tasks was not determined -neither in the total scores, nor in the separate subtests. When the callosal areas were compared to the test results, several significant negative correlations for women could be proven between the verbal subtests and the callosal parameters. In contrast, men achieved only one significant positive correlation with a frontal callosal section. These results contradict previous theories concerning a female bilateral cognitive processing strategy and also the assumption that women attain higher results in verbal task solving.