The aporetic dialogues of Modena on gender differences: Is it all about testosterone? Episode II: Empathy.

Abstract

The exploration of gender differences in non-andrological fields was the core focus of a series of discussions, which took place at the Endocrinology Unit in Modena, Italy in the form of the aporetic dialogue of ancient Greece. This second episode reports the transcript of the actual debate on testosterone's role in defining empathic behavior in males and females. The two groups of discussants sustained that empathic gender differences may rely either on testosterone exposure (group 1) or on other factors (group 2). The first group supported the hypothesis that females are more empathic than males due to reduced exposure to fetal testosterone, which correlates with higher empathic scores at all ages and lower sensitivity to testosterone in adulthood. This hypothesis is also supported by evolutionary mechanisms and evidence in animal ethology. Conversely, the second group affirmed that gender differences rely on structural diversities in brain organization, hormonal factors such as vasopressin, oxytocin, and cortisol, as well as sociological aspects. An expert in neurophysiology, acting as a referee, moderated the discussion and decided whether the two theories were equivalent or one was predominant.