Over the past decade we've been bombarded with information about the innate differences between males and females, and many people simply accept that gender differences are hardwired from birth - boys can't focus in the classroom, and girls are obsessed with relationships: "That's just the way they're built."

In Pink Brain, Blue Brain, renowned neuroscientist Lise Eliot turns that thinking on its head. Presenting the latest science from birth to puberty, including her own work in the field of neuroplasticity, Eliot convincingly argues that infant brains are so malleable that what begin as small differences at birth become amplified over time as parents, teachers - and society at large - unwittingly reinforce gender stereotypes.

While genes and hormones play a role in creating boy-girl differences, social factors, such as how we speak to our sons and daughters, whether we encourage their physical adventurousness, and their types of peer interactions, have a far more powerful impact on brain development than previously realized. By studying how gender differences emerge, Dr Eliot has devised concrete, practical solutions for parents and teachers that explain where and when to intervene to help close the troubling gaps between boys and girls, and enable children of both sexes to reach their full potential.