Marianne Legato, MD, FACP
Biography

	How does our physiology affect our brain? Can you give an example of gender differences? Do men go through hormonal changes? How do our differences affect how we parent? Do men really just not listen?

Why won't he ask for directions? Why does she always want to talk about the relationship? Why is it so hard for men and women to understand each other and what can we do about it? Marianne J. Legato, MD, author of Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget, says that our fundamental differences lie in the chemical and structural makeup of our brains. She joined us on Aug. 31, 2005, to share tips and strategies for learning to think like the opposite sex in order to get past our differences.

If you have questions about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This event is meant for informational purposes only.

MODERATOR:
Welcome to WebMD Live. Our guest today is Marianne J. Legato, MD, author of Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget. She's here to help us understand how to think like the opposite sex and get past our differences.

Welcome, Dr. Legato. Could you please tell us about "gender-specific" medicine and your work in this area?

LEGATO:
I became interested in the differences between men and women as a result of my research on women and heart disease. It became apparent there were significant differences between the sexes and in the techniques we should use to diagnose, prevent and treat coronary artery disease.

I began to wonder as a result of that research whether there were other, just as important, differences between men and women in other systems of the body, and found to my great interest and delight that in all of our body systems, there are significant differences between us. I am now convinced a patient's sex should be a very important feature in how we prevent, diagnose, and treat all illness.

"There are differences in men's and women's ability to interpret facial expression."

LEGATO:
The anatomic, functional, even molecular characteristics of our brains differ between men and women. As a result, the way our intellectual functions operate are quite different as a result. Men's brains are larger than those of women, for example, but women have more intricate and extensive connections between their brain cells in, for example, parts of the brain devoted to speech.

MODERATOR:
How do these physical differences affect how we respond?

LEGATO:
There are differences in our ability to interpret facial expression and tones of speech. Women are more able to process facial expression and the tone of what is said to them than are men.

And because of the impact of estrogen on memory, another important difference is that women will remember details of unpleasant experiences much more than men. As a result, a woman carries a much more detailed memory of an unpleasant event than a man.

Even at rest, there is baseline activity in the primitive parts of the brain in the limbic system which is different in men and women. For example, at rest men are better able to perceive movement, even from the periphery of their vision than are women.

The opinions expressed herein are the guests' alone and have not been reviewed by a WebMD physician.