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Study Suggests Difference in Lesbians' Brains

Quote:

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/...BhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Quote:

Originally Posted by KagomJack

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060508/...BhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

I've heard that before. It's already been shown in animals for a long time :o.

This has been known for a long time, yet people still believe that it is a personal decision to be gay. It's kind of irritating, actually...especially with churches and such.

i guess them gays are inferior after all!

That's the best thing I've ever seen from you, Sov :o

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mantralord

i guess them gays are inferior after all!

/signed

It is a personal decision. Somewhere down along the line sub-consciously most likely, your body decided to like men. Just because your gay and you are attracted to male phermones doesn't mean it's a product of nature. It's a product of your mind. The human brain is capable of far greater things than being attracted to same sex phermones.
No one is born gay or lesbian. Just like no one is born with alcoholism. We're a clean slate when we spring from the womb just as we have evolved to be. And we have evolved to reproduce. It's basic animal instinct. To survive and make sure our species continues on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneda

If it is sub-conscious, one could argue that it is a product of nature and not a personal decision.

Nope. It's a product of your environment, among a few other things I'm sure. Although I think it's truely one of those un-explanable phenomenoms. Your born straight as nature and evolution intended. I've got nothing wrong with homosexualism, but that has to be the way it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneda

But what makes you believe that this is the way it is, though?

Then people choose to be straight.

We didn't choose to be straight you sick bastard. We came from our mother womb straight got it. But only sick people like you who choose being gay because he want to know how does it feel to get fucked.

It still seems to be a case of nurture over nature...at least I believe it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by osmoses

How in the world does being homosexual, or bisexual make him sick? It makes him different, not sick.

Furthermore, you seem to completely lack the capacity to understand his post. He was responding to Kaneda, because Kaneda said people have to choose to be homosexual. Using that same logic, he responded to Kaneda with pretty much exactly what Kaneda said. I believe KJ's argument to be invalid, actually I believe both Kaneda's and KJ's arguments are invalid, but it would be wise to try and understand what the person is saying before you go blabbering off like a moron.

Perhaps they don't choose to be gay or w/e, but they weren't born that way and they did not evolve to be that way. You don't choose to be straight, it's simply the way it is. Procreation man.

Yea. Even though they're born that way it's entirely their choice. Ever heard of Elton John? He almost started a "normal" family with a lady all the while knowing he was homosexual. He tried to be normal and couldn't. A lot of people do that. It doesn't sound like a choice to me when people do that.

You've piqued my interest. What is your view on this subject?

Maybe not their choice but my point is that at some point throughout life something happens to make them that way. It's not "natural".

What makes these "scientists" think that their response to the male/female hormones is what makes them gay? I think it's more likely that they respond to the hormones that way BECAUSE they are gay...

Now if they did it to children who had no sexual interest yet and those children later became gay, that would be a good study.

If you were a parent would you volunteer your child for experiments into seeing if they turn out gay?

And anyway, some scientists might shy away from an experiment that could take something like 18 years to complete - from birth right the way to adulthodd (maybe a bit further). And what about funding? I'm sure some European Scientisty place could get the funding (heck, the Swedes got funding for working out that there are 44 ways to put together an Ikea wardrobe without the instructions - only 8 of which actually work), but I'm not sure about an American Institute, especially not if it's funded by the government.

No, I meant: monitor their brains at ages 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, or whatever. See if it's consistent with their sexual behavior later in life.

Ah, OK. I'm thinking along the lines of some experiment done by Robert Winston - Child of Our Time. He looks at kids as they grow up, from the day of their birth till I don't know when. Quite interesting - he's being doing it for years.

The way Robert Winston does it is probably very time and money consuming, your way would be quick and less expensive.

But then, what happens if in your Population you get a child who has had a very traumatic experience, that, in later life, may lead to 'being gay'? How would that be taken into account?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lenny

But then, what happens if in your Population you get a child who has had a very traumatic experience, that, in later life, may lead to 'being gay'? How would that be taken into account?

Isn't that the whole point to figure shit like that out!?

Well...yes.

I can't remember where I was coming from there...hmm. Myabe I was thinking that it wouldn't be fair to the others? A Fair Experiment?

Oh yes, a way we can finally prove Lesbians and gays are different from us straights!!!