Re-Conceptualizing Sex, Brain and Gender: From Dimorphism to Mosaic

A talk by Daphna Joel, School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University

When scientists and laypeople think about sex differences in brain and in behavior, cognition, personality and other gender characteristics, they rely on an analogy to the current interpretation of the effects of sex on the reproductive system, and therefore conceptualize sex effects in terms of “sexual dimorphism” (e.g., “male” versus “female” brains). Documented sex differences in brain structure are typically taken to support this dimorphic view of brain and gender. On the basis of current data, Joel calls for a paradigm shift in our conceptualization of the relation between sex, brain and gender.

Daphna Joel received her Ph.D. in psychology in Tel Aviv University, and joined the faculty of TAU in 1998. She is presently the head of the Psychobiology graduate program at the School of Psychological Sciences, and a member of the Sagol School of Neuroscience.

Her research interests focus on understanding the involvement of basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits in normal and abnormal behavior, using mainly animal models of psychopathology. More recently Prof. Joel has expanded her work to research questions related to brain, sex and gender, and in particular the complex interplay between sex and environment in the development of psychopathology.