Carl Pintzka, doctor and PhD candidate at the Institute for neuroscience at University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Norway, has conducted a study with about 40 men and women testing their memory and sense of direction.
His studies show that everyone uses most of their brain when figuring out directions. Yet there are variances.
Pintzka has found that women and men have different strategies for finding their way to a destination.
The male strategy is the best one, according to the study. When someone is trying to get from point A to B, women will plan a route along places they know. However, men use the position of the sun more actively, which is more efficient according to Pintzka. It allows them to be more flexible, but if they will remember what they are passing is not sure.
Another study from the same university from two years back show, on the other hand, that women have a better memory than men. The researchers are not quite sure why that is the case, but the better memory of women is consistent in all age groups, according to the study.
Another finding is that 30 year old men actually are as forgetful as a 60 year old. Actually 9 out of 10 men struggle with remembering names and dates, according to the study. This may partly explain the many jokes about male forgetfulness about important family dates.
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Women and men have historically used the brain for different purposes and therefore it has developed differently as well. This is part of the scientists reasoning behind the results in Pintzka's study.
For people with Alzheimer's sense of direction is one of the first qualities that are lost. The team behind Pintzka's study will use the results to better understand how the disease develops and what can be done for people who are already affected.