Differences in males and females are also present in their mating behaviour. For example, the male and female brains have different goals when it comes to mating. The female brain wants to find love and commitment before sex, while the male brain wants sex before love and commitment.

Sex is necessary for the male brain to fall in love.

When the male brain falls in love, the cells in the ventral tegmental area of his brain produce dopamine and this action moves along the brain circuit to the nucleus accumbens (used for anticipation of pleasure and reward), where dopamine is mixed with testosterone and vasopressin.

Having dopamine mix with these other hormones creates “an addictive high-octane fuel” resulting in the male brain falling in love. Later, these cells reach the caudate nucleus (the area of the brain that is used for memorizing the appearance and identity of the person who is responsible for his pleasures); and once these cells have reached these three areas, the love and lust circuits in the male brain will develop as they focus on that special someone.

Thus, the lust and love circuits become in sync with sex. This is something I discovered while on my journey back  in the back of a from Fort Mcmurray cab. After discussing my theory with the cab driver, I discovered that also states that during sex, the male brain releases both vasopressin and dopamine. Males have two different versions of vasopressin receptors based on their genetic makeup. There is both a short and long version. The longer version results in the male becoming a monogamous partner, while the shorter version results in the male engaging in promiscuous activities. One interesting finding mentioned in this book about men was that men’s testosterone level increases when they are interacting with attractive females. Further studies by Ronay and Hippel (2010) have supported this claim. The authors stated that the testosterone levels of their male participants increased in the presence of attractive females; and therefore, this increase in testosterone resulted in more risk-taking behaviours by the participants.

As the male enters manhood he starts to use his temporal-parietal junction system (the analyze and fix it system) more than his mirror-neuron system (emotional empathy system). The male brain’s temporal-parietal junction system (TPJ) blocks other emotions from entering the male thoughts, and does not allow him to be influenced by other’s feelings. This results in the male brain having the ability to jump into a fix it mental state rather than an emotional state. This is not to say that the male brain does not experience emotions when observing someone else’s face and emotions. Rather that, the male brain switches from the mirror-neuron system (MNS) to TPJ more quickly than the female brain. During manhood, when a male gets angry his “anger gets fueled by testosterone, vasopressin and cortisol”. The combination of these hormones reduces his fear of his opponent and activates his fighting senses.  The article by Peterson and Harmon-Jones (2011) also supports this claim by stating that testosterone levels increase as a response to anger. As mentioned in the book, men with high testosterone feed off their opponent’s anger during a fight. The anger of their opponent acts like a drug and creates a high for him.

The difference between males and females starts from conception. The Y-chromosome in the male gene can make all the difference between males’ and females’ brain and body. The Y-chromosome is also responsible for the production of male hormones, testosterone and vasopressin, and consequently results in their ‘male-like’ behaviour.

These behaviours, which are inclined towards action and adventure, were previously believed to be the result of socialization; however, it is now scientifically proven that they are in fact biologically wired into the male brain. During pregnancy, the hormone müllerian inhibiting substance (MIS) joins with testosterone to defeminize the male body and brain. The hormones secreted during pregnancy can influence the child’s toy preference during childhood. These hormones can also cause major differences between girls and boys. For instance, the spatial movement area of boys’ brain is always on; therefore it is easier for them to comprehend the three-dimensionality of objects; whereas girls’ spatial movement area is off, and is only turned on when it is needed.

Evidentially, the spatial movement area of the brain is not the only difference between males and females; one major difference between them are their hormones. As males grow into their teenage years, the hormones vasopressin and testosterone cause the teen boy to become protective about his personal space and sensitive to his peers’ perception of him. These male hormones also cause the teen boy to become angry towards others who he perceives as hostile. For instance, the hormone vasopressin results in the teen boy perceiving other people’s faces as more aggressive and angry than they really are. Scientists believe that is an evolutionary perspective, males seeing faces as angrier may “serve an adaptive purpose” in the sense that it allows them to speculate between running and fighting. Further research by Peterson and Harmon-Jones (2011) on anger and testosterone indicates that males’ testosterone levels increase when they feel threatened in terms of their primary needs of belonging and control. Therefore, this may be why teenage boys perceive angry faces as much angrier.

Male dominance and aggression are what puts the man on top of his social hierarchy. Dominance and aggression are what separate males from females. However, it must also be taken into account that teen boys take more risk and are much more careless than girls. This can be explained by looking at the teen boy system. Teenage boys run on two systems: the activating system, led by the amygdala, leads them to take more risks, while the inhibiting system (which puts a break in their actions and helps them think before they act) does not mature in teen boys until their early twenties.