Likenesses in Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Brains, Study Finds
Category : Self Development, Sexual Life, Women Health, Women Personality
Gay men and straight women share some characteristics in the area of the brain responsible for emotion, mood and anxiety, a new study finds. Swedish researchers have found that some physical attributes of the homosexual brain resemble those found in the opposite sex, according to an article published online (June 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Their research has found that the right and the left hemispheres are almost exactly the same size in both groups. They say scans show that gay men and heterosexual women have similar wiring in parts of the brain that control emotional reactions. Specifically, key brain structures in homosexuals which govern “mood, anxiety and aggressiveness” resemble those in heterosexuals of the opposite sex – something likely to have been “forged” in the womb and not the result of later learning processes.
Differences both in the brain activity and anatomy were observed in a study of 90 men and women, including homosexuals and heterosexuals of both genders. Swedish researchers put a group of 90 volunteers through the MRI scanner – 25 heterosexuals and 20 homosexuals of each gender – to determine their overall brain shape and volume. The results showed that straight chaps boasted asymmetric brains, “with the right hemisphere slightly larger”, something they shared with lesbians.
The Swedish study, however, is the first to find differences in parts of the brain not normally involved in reproduction ??? the denser network of nerve connections, for example, was found in the amygdala, known as the emotional center of the brain. “The big question has always been, if the brains of gay men are different, or feminized, as earlier research suggests,” says Dr. Eric Vilain, professor of human genetics at University of California Los Angeles, “then is it just limited to sexual preference or are there other regions that are gender atypical in gay males? For the first time, in this study it looks like there are regions of the brain not directly involved in sexuality that seem to be feminized in gay males.”
They also measured blood flow to the amygdala – the area said to be central to the so-called “fight-or-flight” response – highlighting how it was “wired” similarly in gay men and straight women on one hand and lesbians and heterosexual men on the other. “The observations cannot be easily attributed to perception or behaviour,” the researchers wrote.
“Whether they may relate to processes laid down during the foetal or postnatal development is an open question.” Possible explanations include differing levels of exposure to hormones such as testosterone in the womb.
One possible interpretation of the connectivity pattern in straight men and lesbians is that the amygdala is wired for a greater fight-or-flight response, the authors say. “These observations motivate more extensive investigations of larger study groups and prompt for a better understanding of the neurobiology of homosexuality,” the researchers wrote.
The idea that the male and female, gay or straight brain can be so easily categorised seems deeply problematic and appears to rest on outmoded and stereotypical notions of gender and sexuality. Where does this new research leave bisexuals? If gay men are hopeless navigators and straight men natural born Top Guns, are bisexual men only to be trusted with a map when they’re in a relationship with a woman?
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