You know where you are with a man

Men and women use different parts of the brain to find their way about, shows a study that may explain why men are supposed to be better at map-reading.

Psychological tests suggest men do well in tests of "spatial ability" compared to women, and a brain-scanner found the possible reason - the sexes use their brains differently.

Men tend to use an ancient region of the brain, called the left hippocampus, known to be involved in basic navigational skills. Women tend to use the prefrontal cortex, which evolved more recently and is involved in "higher" intelligence. Matthias Riepe and colleagues at Ulm University in Germany publish their findings today in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

A survey by the RAC motoring organisation shows women drivers aged 36 to 45 are most likely to get lost on a new route and men aged 17 to 25 make the fewest mistakes. Eleanor Maguire, of University College London, who found the hippocampus of a London taxi-driver was larger than average, said the German study did not explain why men are less inclined to ask for directions.