Study Suggests Difference in Lesbians' Brains

[Kagom]

Study Suggests Difference in Lesbians' Brains

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON - Lesbians' brains react differently to sex hormones than those of heterosexual women, new research indicates.

That's in line with an earlier study that had indicated gay men's brain responses were different from straight men — though the difference for men was more pronounced than has now been found in women.

Lesbians' brains reacted somewhat, though not completely, like those of heterosexual men, a team of Swedish researchers said in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A year ago, the same group reported findings for gay men that showed their brain response to hormones was similar to that of heterosexual women.

In both cases the findings add weight to the idea that homosexuality has a physical basis and is not learned behavior.

"It shows sexual orientation may very well have a different basis between men and women ... this is not just a mirror image situation," said Sandra Witelson, an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

"The important thing is to be open to the likely situation that there are biological factors that contribute to sexual orientation," added Witelson, who was not part of the research team.

The research team led by Ivanka Savic at the Stockholm Brain Institute had volunteers sniff chemicals derived from male and female sex hormones. These chemicals are thought to be pheromones — molecules known to trigger responses such as defense and sex in many animals.

Whether humans respond to pheromones has been debated, although in 2000 American researchers reported finding a gene that they believe directs a human pheromone receptor in the nose.

The same team reported last year on a comparison of the response of male homosexuals to heterosexual men and women. They found that the brains of gay men reacted more like those of women than of straight men.

The new study shows a similar, but weaker, relationship between the response of lesbians and straight men.

Heterosexual women found the male and female pheromones about equally pleasant, while straight men and lesbians liked the female pheromone more than the male one. Men and lesbians also found the male hormone more irritating than the female one, while straight women were more likely to be irritated by the female hormone than the male one.

All three groups rated the male hormone more familiar than the female one. Straight women found both hormones about equal in intensity, while lesbians and straight men found the male hormone more intense than the female one.

The brains of all three groups were scanned when sniffing male and female hormones and a set of four ordinary odors. Ordinary odors were processed in the brain circuits associated with smell in all the volunteers.

In heterosexual males the male hormone was processed in the scent area but the female hormone was processed in the hypothalamus, which is related to sexual stimulation. In straight women the sexual area of the brain responded to the male hormone while the female hormone was perceived by the scent area.

In lesbians, both male and female hormones were processed the same, in the basic odor processing circuits, Savic and her team reported.

Each of the three groups of subjects included 12 healthy, unmedicated, right-handed and HIV-negative individuals.

The research was funded by the Swedish Medical Research Council, Karolinska Institute and the Wallenberg Foundation.

On the Net:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.pnas.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060508....G4ux6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

 

[dilloduck]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060508....G4ux6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Congratulations !

 

[dmp]

Until that study fails to live up to scientific scrutiny I'll ask: Is the response BECAUSE they are lesbians? Which came first?

 

[dmp]

Oh. And...What about that study proclaims people are victims of their brain reactions? Id est, People must act upon every urge they feel, etc.

 

[Bonnie]

Congratulations !

 

[Diuretic]

Until that study fails to live up to scientific scrutiny I'll ask: Is the response BECAUSE they are lesbians? Which came first?

Same could be said for the male response. Is the response BECAUSE they are men? Which came first?

 

[Diuretic]

Oh. And...What about that study proclaims people are victims of their brain reactions? Id est, People must act upon every urge they feel, etc.

Some do, they usually end up in prison though. Or dead. Those who have properly developed into maturity don't act upon every urge they feel. They understand the need for self-control and how to act in given contexts.

 

[007]

Gee... I posted study after study filled with concrete facts and details, and you Kag could do nothing else but poo poo them away.

Now you post an article titled, "study SUGGESTS"? :talk2:

 

[5stringJeff]

Well, Darin beat me to it, but the question remains: is the different reaction caused by the participant's previous sexual lifestyles? Or are the lifestyles caused by the reactions?

 

[MissileMan]

Well, Darin beat me to it, but the question remains: is the different reaction caused by the participant's previous sexual lifestyles? Or are the lifestyles caused by the reactions?

Does it really make any difference? Even if it's proven with 100% certainty that homosexuals are born that way, and that their condition is untreatable, will you alter your opinion of homosexuals and homosexuality in the slightest?

 

[Diuretic]

I'm missing something.

Is anyone in this study claiming causation?

 

[Avatar4321]

Does it really make any difference? Even if it's proven with 100% certainty that homosexuals are born that way, and that their condition is untreatable, will you alter your opinion of homosexuals and homosexuality in the slightest?

No. Why should it. Just because things are natural doesnt mean they are right. Lying is a natural response. It doesnt mean its right. Intolerance is a natural response too. Doesnt mean thats right either. Violence is perfectly natural. That doesnt make it right either.

That is why i want to slap Christians who are saying something is not natural is the basis for why its wrong. Certainly unnatural things probably are wrong alot of the time. But the natural things often are as well. The natural man is an enemy to God because we are in a fallen state. Our natures are fallen. And the message of the Gospel is that we can put off the natural man and be born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Christ can change human nature.

too many people, even those that believe, fail to realize this.

 

[Diuretic]

No. Why should it. Just because things are natural doesnt mean they are right. Lying is a natural response. It doesnt mean its right. Intolerance is a natural response too. Doesnt mean thats right either. Violence is perfectly natural. That doesnt make it right either.

Call me picky. Lying is not a natural response, it's a learned response. Intolerance is a learned response. Violence is instinctive, so in that sense of "natural" as I think you're using it, yes it is natural. Controlling it is a learned response.

That is why i want to slap Christians who are saying something is not natural is the basis for why its wrong. Certainly unnatural things probably are wrong alot of the time. But the natural things often are as well. The natural man is an enemy to God because we are in a fallen state. Our natures are fallen. And the message of the Gospel is that we can put off the natural man and be born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Christ can change human nature.

too many people, even those that believe, fail to realize this.

The question is, is our sexuality determined by biology or is it a learned response? I don't think this study really answers that question, it does seem to add to the weight of opinion that sexuality is biologically determined but as has been indicated in the thread, there is much work to be done yet before anyone can seriously begin to make that claim.

 

[5stringJeff]

Does it really make any difference? Even if it's proven with 100% certainty that homosexuals are born that way, and that their condition is untreatable, will you alter your opinion of homosexuals and homosexuality in the slightest?

It makes a huge difference. On one hand, if the brain's reaction to male/female pheremones causes one to prefer homosexual relations, that's a piece of evidence for those who say that homosexuals are "born that way." On the other hand, if one's previous sexual activity has conditioned one to prefer pheremones of the same sex, and thus is the cause of the brain's reaction, then it's a piece of evidence for the opposite theory, i.e. that homosexuality is a choice.

And I think my stance on homosexuality has been quite clear.

 

[dmp]

Lying is not a natural response

You don't have kids, do you?

 

[KarlMarx]

Until that study fails to live up to scientific scrutiny I'll ask: Is the response BECAUSE they are lesbians? Which came first?

1. The study was done on 12 people. That isn't a very big sample to base conclusions on.

2. I remember watching a documentary on the human brain. In it, a study was done that took brain scans of Chinese people and Americans as they each read and when they looked at photographs. I remember that their brains scans were different when they read because their brains acted differently. When reading, the Chinese brains acted similarly to American brains when Americans looked at photographs.

The reason... Chinese is a picture based language and English isn't.

So... were the Chinese brain differences due to the Chinese being born understanding Chinese? No... it's because the Chinese read using a pictograph based language.

What's my point? Activity influences brain structure, so does behavior. So the result of the study on lesbians is a big "so what?" in my book.

 

[Diuretic]

You don't have kids, do you?

Stepson. And I know what you mean and I had a good chuckle

 

[007]

That is why i want to slap Christians who are saying something is not natural is the basis for why its wrong.

I've said many a time here that I think homo/lezbo is unnatural. But I also said that God say's it's an abomination. So you may be right.

My point is, pretaining to unnatural, is it goes against nature. GOD say's it's wrong.

 

[William Joyce]

Hey, Kagom: if genetics can explain sexual orientation difference, why not racial difference?

 

[MissileMan]

Hey, Kagom: if genetics can explain sexual orientation difference, why not racial difference?

I don't think it's genetic, as in hereditary. I believe it's more akin to a birth defect...a cross wiring of the brain. Just my opinion of course.