Study of Regional Brain Activity in FTM Transsexuals compared to cis women

[blink]

Oestrogens are Not Related to Emotional Processing: a Study of Regional Brain Activity in Female-to-Male Transsexuals Under Gonadal Suppression.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25246514 🔗

Take-away excerpts:

Under gonadal suppression, FtMs showed less brain activation in the superior temporal lobe compared with female controls during perception of positive affective pictures.

In the absence of associations with hormonal levels, the difference in activation in the superior temporal lobe during positive emotional stimuli between FtMs and control women may be attributed to a priori differences between the 2 groups.

[Delsorou]

Interesting study.  It doesn't really mention whether or not the men in question had undergone HRT at all prior to the study, though one can assume that they did not during the 8 week prep period.  I would imagine that is mentioned within the full text of the study.  It will be fascinating to see if they continue this line of study, and just how much of the difference in emotional processing is due to hormone induced changes over time and how much is an innate difference in the way the brain is structured from birth.  I would imagine that like most things, it's a combination of the two.

Also, it's really hard to think about a scientific study with your avatar.  🙂

[blink]

Yeah, it would've been better if they had mentioned whether these guys had gone on HRT at all yet. There's almost certainly a combination of pre- and post- HRT changes. The question of how much difference is present in brain structure from birth, and how much is HRT induced probably varies by individual.

Ha, sorry, my username and avatar combination were just meant as a little joke.

[Tysilio]

Blink, your avatar is great. Don't change it, or your username.

Jokes are good.

[Delsorou]

Yes, its good.  I love it.  Its just it caught me off guard because I didn't notice it until halfway through reading.  😛