Although previous studies have shown that women are better than men at remembering emotional events, researchers say that until now there has been little evidence to explain why. Some have suggested that women experience emotions more intensely and that makes it easier for them to remember.

But the study authors say their findings support another popular explanation known as the "cognitive style" theory. According to this explanation, women differ from men in how they process and think about emotional events, which, in turn, affects how they remember them.

For the study, Turhan Canli, PhD, of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and colleagues, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure brain activity of 12 men and 12 women who viewed pictures and images that ranged from emotionally neutral (such as fire hydrants) to very negative (such as mutilated bodies). Three weeks after the initial viewing and MRI scan, the men and women were given a surprise memory test and scanned again.

Researchers found that women remembered the emotionally charged images better than the men did. Women also rated the images as more intensely emotional than the men did, and found them easier to recall than the neutral images.

When comparing the memory test scores and brain activity images between the two groups, researchers also found major gender differences. Women activated and used nine different areas of their brains to process memory and emotion, while men only used two.

The study authors say women's emotional memory advantage may stem from a greater overlap and integration between the brain regions most sensitive to emotions. Their complete report appears in the July 22 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.