On a treadmill, men — and women over 60 — started swinging their right arm less while grappling with a complicated language test, researchers found. Language function and right arm swing are both thought to be controlled mainly by the brain's left hemisphere. "We were surprised to find such a consistent gender difference in how two relatively simple behaviours — cognitive control and arm swing — interact with one another," Killeen told AFP. The participants were asked to walk — first normally, and then while performing a verbal task called the Stroop test. "Alternatively, women are often shown to have somewhat better verbal skills than men" and may find the Stroop test easier, Killeen said by email.

Source: Daily Nation January 25, 2017 05:38 UTC