Newborn Girls Show Longer Focus on Faces Than Boys, Study Finds

A team of scientists examined the visual attention of 130 newborns shortly after delivery, presenting each infant with side-by-side videos of a human face and a Newton's Cradle. The double-blind design prevented bias, as the researchers recording eye movements did not know the infant's gender or the stimulus being viewed. Results showed that girls allocated a greater proportion of their gaze to the facial video, whereas boys spent more time on the moving object.

Professor Sir Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre, said the findings point to prenatal factors shaping early sex differences. Lead author Yumnah Khan cautioned that the effect appears only at the group level and does not predict individual abilities, but noted potential relevance for understanding conditions like autism, which is diagnosed more often in boys.