Susan's Place Transgender Resources

"Gay brain" study makes sweeping generalisations

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8051.html
6/21/2008

"Many of you have probably read about the recent study that says the brain makeup of gay males is similar to that of straight women, and that holds true for gay women and straight men."

Many years ago I got into a discussion with a woman who was a coworker.  She was saying that women get along so well with gay men because they think alike.  And I was saying, no, they get along so well because women don't feel sexually threatened by gay men.  I went on to point out that I had (have) yet to meet a gay man who thinks like a woman.

er........I do not claim medical insight but I think my brain reflects who I am, it is for others to judge me female or male. I know which I am and prefer etc..... :-\

The generalization is made by the commenter,
the study itself makes no such thing.

Scientific study's result are distorted to suit
whatever agenda the reader has all the time,
it cannot be helped.


People that think gay men act feminine will
see that as comforting a previous prejudice;
often made with little basis in fact since they
actually don't know any gay person.

I wish they would update the reseach on Transsexuality.

Cindy

I'm always skeptical of stories about scientific findings in the popular press.  The first thing I noticed on this one is that no specific article or author was cited.   I did a little research (Google is your friend) and went to the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging's web site.  There are no recent press releases or publications pending on this topic.  The cited is the Popular Library of Science which is an internet publication and not peer reviewed.  Draw your own conclusions.

more here. (http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=71120)

Quote from: Natasha on June 22, 2008, 05:03:13 AM
more here.
(http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=71120)

Thank you!  I found the article, PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0801566105v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Ivanka+Savic&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT)

The first sentence of the abstract, "Cerebral responses to putative pheromones and objects of sexual attraction were recently found to differ between homo- and heterosexual subjects." raises questions about the function of pheromones in human behavior, an argument not quite settled.

Quote from: Ivanca Savic, Karolinska Institute, Retzius väg 8, 171 77 Stockholm, SwedenOne of the most intriguing issues in the field of olfaction is whether pheromone transduction exists also in humans. Many researchers are skeptical because it is uncertain whether the pheromone signals can be conveyed to the brain, as the accessory olfactory nerve in humans is vestigial, disappearing before birth. Although the vomeronasal organ can be identified in the nasal cavity below the olfactory mucosa in a majority of humans, it does not harbour functional neuronal elements,3 and with one exception all putative members of the vomeronasal receptor family in the human genome are pseudogenes.4 Other scientists are more positive, taking support from several behavioural studies implicating an involvement of putative pheromones in regulating endocrine-dependent behaviours such as menstruation. For example, female axillary extract applied to the upper lip it shown to alter the timing of ovulation and menstruation of the recipient.5 This phenomenon is suggested to underlie the menstrual synchrony among roommates and is presumably mediated by the hypothalamus. Furthermore, it has recently been reported that a putative pheromone receptor gene is expressed in human olfactory mucosa.4 Consequently, there is a theoretical possibility that putative pheromones in humans, like for example in ferrets and pigs, could have an effect on the hypothalamus via the nasal mucosa.

Dr. Savic is the same person listed as chief investigator in the study cited in the OP.  The preceding was in a letter to the journal Nature titled Sex differentiated hypothalamic activation by putative pheromones in 2002.

My conclusion:  Maybe there is a difference and maybe it doesn't mean a damn thing!  >:D