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More evidence of a biological basis for homosexuality...

BillieTheBotBillieTheBot Posts: 8,721 Bot
in Sex & Relationships
At least in gay males.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7791888
Study: Homosexuals react to male sex hormones like women
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:19 p.m. ET May 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - The brains of homosexual men respond more like those of women when reacting to a chemical derived from the male sex hormone, new evidence of physical differences related to sexual orientation.

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The finding, published in Tuesday’s issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows differences in physiological reaction to sex hormones.

Researchers led by Ivanka Savic at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, exposed heterosexual men and women and homosexual men to 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 the subject of debate, although in 2000 American researchers reported finding a gene that they believe directs the human pheromone receptor in the nose.

Biological basis to sexual orientation?
In the Swedish study, when sniffing a chemical from testosterone, the male hormone, portions of the brains involved in sexual activity were activated in gay men and straight women, but not in straight men, the researchers found.

When they sniffed smells like cedar or lavender, all of the subjects brains reacted only in the olfactory regions that handles smells.

The result clearly shows a biological involvement in sexual orientation, said Sandra Witelson, an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

The research was funded by the Swedish Medical Research Council, the Karolinska Institute and the Megnus Bergvall Foundation.

Don't have view on it, but thought it was interesting so shaging it...
erm no... I meant sharing it :D
Beep boop. I'm a bot.

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Actually here is an update..
    Lesbians' Brains React Differently

    By Randolph E. Schmid
    Associated Press
    posted: 08 May 2006
    05:35 pm ET

    UPDATED MAY 12, 2006 AT 5:20 P.M. ET

    Clarification: WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a story below, The Associated Press reported on the perceptions of lesbian women and heterosexual men and women when sniffing chemicals derived from human hormones. The report was based on a chart in a research study which indicated different perceptions of the chemicals, such as pleasantness, familiarity and irritability. While there were differences in how the brains of homosexual and heterosexual participants reacted to the chemicals, the story should also have included the conclusion that indicated differences in individual perceptions were not statistically significant. The story below remains in its original form.

    WASHINGTON (AP)—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.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think that the fact that if one identical twin is gay, there's a 50% chance (far higher than the natural rate of homosexuality) that the other will be, is quite conclusive that there must be some genetic basis to it. But the fact that it is only 50% (rather than 100%, since they share the same genes) rules out any specific gay gene.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think you like whatever you like and you don't need to explain your taste
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They are called 'identical twins' but they are, of course, not 'identical'.

    While all sorts of additional issues can influence the development of twins prior to their birth such as unequal access to nourishment, positional pressure etc, once the fertilised egg has divided, then feotal development does not neccessarily work in synch and hormonal development can be quite different.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :banghead:
    i hate articals like that.
    you are who you are. does it really matter how you got to be that way.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote:
    :banghead:
    i hate articals like that.
    you are who you are. does it really matter how you got to be that way.

    Yes, but with time the genetic argument, if further proof is found etc. and it becomes widely accepted, will put the wind out of the sails of the homophobes who reckon everyone has a choice in which gender they fancy and berate gay men and lesbians for acting on their natural instincts, just as straight couples do. Teagan can't help being gay any more than I can help being short and having small tits (neither of which I find particularly problematic - apart from having trouble reaching things very high up in libraries and supermarkets :p).
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sounds like the researchers might end up trying to find a cure, as wrong as that is
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Meryn wrote:
    Teagan can't help being gay ...

    Who, dear?

    Me, dear?

    GAY, dear???

    How very DARE you!!!

    :p

    *hugs*
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teagan wrote:
    Who, dear?

    Me, dear?

    GAY, dear???

    How very DARE you!!!

    :p

    *hugs*

    :lol::lol: you were the first person that came into my head :p
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