Discussion: Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains

MaRy

Quote:

Gay peoples' brains share similar characteristics to those of the opposite sex, a new study says.

Researchers found resemblances in the brain's physical structure and size as well as the strength of neural connections among gay people and straight people of the opposite sex.

In some ways the brains of straight men and lesbians are on similar wavelengths, the research suggests. Likewise, gay men and straight women appear to have similar brains, in some respects. The findings are new evidence that homosexuals may be born with a predisposition to be gay.

"[Our] data are more difficult to explain by a specific learned behavior related to … sexual orientation," study leader Ivanka Savic, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said in an email.

Past studies have shown that brain activity linked to sexual behavior differs between homosexuals and heterosexuals. But this study is the first to show that the cerebral networks themselves are also different, Savic said.

Fight or Flight?

Differences both in the brain activity and anatomy were observed in a study involving 90 men and women, including homosexuals and heterosexuals of both genders.

The researchers monitored neural activity in the brain by charting blood flow.

The scans were carried out when the volunteers were resting and exposed to no external stimuli.

Researchers focused in particular on the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure inside each brain hemisphere associated with processing and storing emotions.

In homosexuals, brain activity most closely matched that of heterosexuals of the other sex.For example, the study found that straight men and gay women are both wired for a greater "fight or flight" response than gay men or straight women, the team reports this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Also, homosexual men and straight women showed significantly more neural connections across the two brain hemispheres than heterosexual men did.

The two sides of the brain also changed in symmetry depending on the person's sexual orientation.

To determine brain volume, Savic and colleagues also compared the left and right cerebral hemispheres using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and previous research data.

The right hemisphere was found to be slightly larger than the left in heterosexual males and lesbians, whereas those of gay men and straight women were symmetrical.

The results compliment previous research that found differing brain reactions in homo- and heterosexuals in response, for instance, to sexual images and certain pheromones, the authors said.

The latest findings imply that "human sexuality has neurobiological underpinnings," the mechanisms of which are complex and "require humbleness and restraint from quick judgments," Savic said.

Born Gay?

Sandra Witelson, a neuroscientist at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, wasn't involved in the new study.

"This was a study that was waiting to be done, because it leads so clearly from the current literature," she said.

Recent work by Witelson and colleagues indicated that the corpus callosum, a long fiber tract that connects the two brain hemispheres, was larger in gay men than in heterosexual men.

Brain features such as the corpus callosum and amygdalae develop very early, suggesting they are primarily genetically determined, she said.

(Related: "Sexual Orientation Is Genetic in Worms, Study Says" [October 25, 2007].)

The latest findings "make it very hard to argue that these differences are a product of learning or environmental influences."

But it doesn't necessarily follow that a person's sexuality is determined at birth, Witelson cautioned.

"Sexual orientation has a large genetic component, but that doesn't mean environment is a hundred percent irrelevant," she said.

"For example, heterosexual men in prison [may] engage in homosexual behavior, but that doesn't mean that they are homosexual because, given a choice, they choose the opposite sex."

The next big research question, Witelson said, is to determine whether these brain differences influence behavior

Lady Gaga was right

Rejoice girls

Fujin

robboadam

So THAT'S why we get on so well.

richa70

Well, I'm bi, So where does that leave me?

Stephen

There are SO many issues with this "study" I don't know where to begin.

MaRy

Quote:

Originally posted by richa70

Well, I'm bi, So where does that leave me?

not sure

Harry

I refuse to be associated anatomically to that vile species.

MaRy

but the main question remains... how did gay genes survive and proliferate if they cannot reproduce?

Stephen

Quote:

Originally posted by MaRy

but the main question remains... how did gay genes survive and proliferate if they cannot reproduce?

LDYGG

Without going too into it, it makes sense. One could argue that it's obvious that the way our brains develop dictate which gender we find attractive, meaning that since gay men and straight women find the same gender attractive, our brains develop similarly.

Harry

Quote:

Originally posted by richa70

Well, I'm bi, So where does that leave me?

Bisexual people are attracted to either one of the genders on different scales. It's impossible that you like a male and female 50% each. Most bisexuals like men tho.

jordanjm

Quote:

Originally posted by MaRy

but the main question remains... how did gay genes survive and proliferate if they cannot reproduce?

I saw something recently that with gay men there was something that was passed on by their mother that usually isn't. I forget exactly what is was though.

richa70

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry

Bisexual people are attracted to either one of the genders on different scales. It's impossible that you like a male and female 50% each. Most bisexuals like men tho.

Tbh, I like woman Mentally & emtionally & guys I just like their asses & face

Fernando.

well that explains why gay men act like queens

Beatfreak

Quote:

Originally posted by MaRy

but the main question remains... how did gay genes survive and proliferate if they cannot reproduce?

Throughout history not many were accepting of gays, so it was probably easier to live the normal lifestyle - go do your job and find a wife and have a family and ignore/don't tell anyone about your sexual preference. Think about it, people needed larger families so kids could get jobs and contribute money to the family. A single gay man would not make enough money in the olden days living on his own compared to getting married and having a family. Times were different.

AnthoXyloto

Interesting. I just don't see how gay people can be a product of their environment though. Trust me, there are a bunch of effeminate gay guys who grew up around a bunch of men, with rare opportunities for them to "learn" to act that way. Same thing with lesbians. They said environment isn't totally irrelevant, but in my experience I fail to see what it has to do with anything.

Harry

Quote:

Originally posted by MaRy

but the main question remains... how did gay genes survive and proliferate if they cannot reproduce?

That doesn't make sense. It's not that only gay people can produce gay offsprings. You can have two straightest parents and still born gay. I don't agree 100% that gay people are born. I believe it has something to do with the environment in the very early years of growth before a child garners conscience.

Maiko

Quote:

Originally posted by Fujin

Old

who unbanned u

LDYGG

Quote:

Originally posted by jordanjm

I saw something recently that with gay men there was something that was passed on by their mother that usually isn't. I forget exactly what is was though.

Their mother's love for the D.

Mastamaind

Quote:

Originally posted by richa70

Well, I'm bi, So where does that leave me?

You have double power.