Brain differences associated with sexual orientation
For at least 20 years, neuroscientists have been trying to discover whether there are specific differences between heterosexual and homosexual men and women. Older studies have shown that a small area of the anterior hypothalamus in gay men is smaller than heterosexual men and has not been different from heterosexual women. Newer studies with imaging methods have shown differences related to sexual orientation in cortical areas dedicated to vision, asymmetry between two hemisphere and reported differences in the thickness of the prefrontal cortex.
In general, these specific brain regions in gay men are similar to heterosexual women, while the same brain regions in gay women are similar to heterosexual men. These discoveries led scientists to think that some of the behavioral and cognitive characteristics associated with sexual orientation may be reflected in subtle but consistent differences in brain anatomy, although many of these studies were limited to small sample sizes. A recent study has proposed the role of specific genes in same-sex sexual behavior using the largest neuroimaging genetic dataset available.
The brain region that showed the most consistent sex-related differences was the calcarine sulcus. This sulcus is an area of the cortex at the back of the brain that is primarily responsible for processing visual information. The origin of sex-related differences in brain anatomy is unknown. However, Recent studies suggest that multiple genes may be involved as well as many non-genetic factors.
The researchers also discovered interesting data regarding the relationship between genetic patterns and changes in brain anatomy, with genetic factors associated with changes in certain cortical structures having opposite effects on cortical volume in male intersexuals compared to females who engage in same-sex sexual behavior. It has been reported. In other words, the brain regions in question were larger in gay women and smaller in gay men compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
Despite these findings, the authors stress that genetic or neuroimaging data cannot be used to predict people’s sexual orientation.
Ms. Zohra Abedini (Master of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children)
This post is written by Esan1235