Daphna Joel facts for kids

Daphna Joel (Hebrew: דפנה יואל; born January 20, 1967) is an Israeli neuroscientist. A neuroscientist studies the brain and nervous system. She is well-known for her research about the human brain.

Joel believes there is no such thing as a "male brain" or a "female brain." Instead, she suggests that each person's brain is a unique mix of different features. This idea is called the "gender mosaic" concept. Other scientists have different views. They say that male and female brains often show clear differences.

Daphna Joel is also part of The NeuroGenderings Network. This is a group of scientists who study gender and the brain. They want to make sure that brain science is fair and does not have unfair biases based on gender. Joel has shared her ideas in talks around the world.

Since 2003, Joel has led the psychobiology department at Tel Aviv University. Psychobiology is a field that looks at how the brain and body affect behavior. In 2013, she became the head of the PhD committee for psychology students.

Her Work and Research

According to Joel, the brain is a "mosaic" of the male and female

Daphna Joel started her university studies at Tel Aviv University. She earned a bachelor's degree in medical science. Then, she got her doctorate (PhD) in psychobiology in 1998. Her early research looked at how connections in the brain are organized. For about 15 years, she studied how the brain works in people with Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a condition where people have unwanted thoughts and repeat certain behaviors.

A big question in Joel's research is whether human brains can be simply divided into "male" or "female." Her studies suggest that the answer is "no."

One important study that shaped Joel's ideas was done by Margaret McCarthy. McCarthy found that certain features in animal brains can change. These changes can happen because of things like stress. Joel looked at these findings and other studies. She concluded that if brain areas can change their typical "male" or "female" forms, then it doesn't make sense to talk about a fixed "male brain" or "female brain."

Joel believes that the brain does not have a single "sex." She says that while there are differences between male and female brains, these differences are small. They are also not organized in a way that creates two distinct brain types. For example, a larger part of the brain called the amygdala (which is sometimes seen as a "male" feature) does not tell you anything about another part, like the hippocampus.

Joel's research suggests that brain features are a mix. A person might have some features more common in males and some more common in females. This mix is unique for each person. It is shaped by genetics, sex, and the environment.

Not all scientists agree with Joel's conclusions. Her first study on this topic, called Male or Female? Brains are Intersex, was published in 2011. Joel continues to speak out for a less fixed way of thinking about gender in brain science.

Gender and Society

Daphna Joel is also very interested in gender and feminism. Feminism is about believing in equal rights and opportunities for all genders. She has said that she has held feminist views since she was young.

Joel believes that in many parts of the world, society pushes people into being either "boys" or "girls." She thinks that this way of thinking limits what people can do. In her opinion, if we didn't have such strict gender roles, everyone would have many more possibilities in life.

In 2009, Joel started special groups for psychology students. These groups discussed issues related to gender. She later created a course called "Is pink a girl color?" This course looked at social rules about what is "feminine" and "masculine." It also explored how people's unconscious ideas about gender affect them. Working on this course led Joel to her research on the "male brain" and "female brain" in the early 2000s.

See also

In Spanish: Daphna Joel para niños

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Gender essentialism
• Neuroscience of sex differences