Small study claims gay and lesbian brains similar to opposite sex heterosexuals
”This is a very interesting study demonstrating a possible neurobiological relationship in brain size between gay men and straight women.”
Paul Sanberg, professor of neurosurgery and director of the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa, commenting on conclusions made by researches at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The study found, in part, that gay men and straight women had symmetrical brain hemispheres, while straight men and lesbians had assymmetrical hemispheres. (Washington Post)
”I do think this is pointing to some type of neurobiological underpinning [to sexual orientation]…. It’s hard to know if that’s related to genes, or what might happen in the womb — I think those are the two primary options.”
Keith A. Young, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Waco, theorizing on how the Swedish study’s results might be related to genetic or prenatal influences. It is noted in the article that “convential wisdom” says gay male sexuality could have genetic factors but not lesbians. (Washington Post)
“The observations cannot be easily attributed to perception or behavior…. Whether they may relate to processes laid down during the fetal or postnatal development is an open question…. These observations motivate more extensive investigations of larger study groups and prompt for a better understanding of the neurobiology of homosexuality.”
Portions of a statement from researchers at the Sweden’s Karolinska Institute whose study of 50 heterosexual and 40 homosexual brains observed, through scans, the subjects’ brain symmetry and blood flow to the amygdala. (Reuters)
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