I have been asked this question repeatedly since we began our imaging work. Here is a fascinating study from Sweden that suggests yes, indeed, there are significant differences, and that homesexual male brains are more similar to female brains, and that homosexual female brains are similar to heterosexual male brains. Here is the reference and abstract for your consideration.
Savic I and Lindstrom, P: PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jul 8;105(27):9403-8.
Cerebral responses to putative pheromones and objects of sexual attraction were recently found to differ between homo- and heterosexual subjects. Although this observation may merely mirror perceptional differences, it raises the intriguing question as to whether certain sexually dimorphic features in the brain may differ between individuals of the same sex but different sexual orientation.
We addressed this issue by studying hemispheric asymmetry and functional connectivity, two parameters that in previous publications have shown specific sex differences.
Ninety subjects [25 heterosexual men (HeM) and women (HeW), and 20 homosexual men (HoM) and women (HoW)] were investigated with magnetic resonance volumetry of cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres. Fifty of them also participated in PET measurements of cerebral blood flow, used for analyses of functional connections from the right and left amygdalae.
HeM and HoW showed a rightward cerebral asymmetry, whereas volumes of the cerebral hemispheres were symmetrical in HoM and HeW. No cerebellar asymmetries were found. Homosexual subjects also showed sex-atypical amygdala connections. In HoM, as in HeW, the connections were more widespread from the left amygdala; in HoW and HeM, on the other hand, from the right amygdala. Furthermore, in HoM and HeW the connections were primarily displayed with the contralateral amygdala and the anterior cingulate, in HeM and HoW with the caudate, putamen, and the prefrontal cortex.
The present study shows sex-atypical cerebral asymmetry and functional connections in homosexual subjects. The results cannot be primarily ascribed to learned effects, and they suggest a linkage to neurobiological entities.
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Did not understand the above. Please explain in layman’s terms.
Do you mean homOsexual?
Thank you for one more piece of evidence that being gay is not necessarily a chosen preference. Much of my life was a living hell because I was trying to change. I was married to a wonderful woman for seven years, a real unjustice for her. I finally came to the realization that being gay is natural for me. I just wish that had happened much earlier in my life. I’m 65 and feel that so much of my life was less than “gay” i.e. “happy”.
Vicki is right. This is a little difficult to understand. Given that this is a hot topic for people of the faith I think it’s important that we can understand this and be better educated about the subject.
Thanks for this information. I am a high school teacher. About a week ago, a male student walked around the track with me during break to tell me he is gay. I had talked about the brain in class and how I had read that the corpus colossum (sp?) is larger in homosexual males (closer to females I have read). He was very interested. I will print this for him.
Thanks. Christine
One more thing: I have a laminated poster of yours on my wall of the scans of different brains revealing the damage done by drugs. This attracts more attention from my students than you can imagine. They always want to know if this is daily usage. I can’t answer, but I would love to know. They are frightened, I know, as many of them are involved with drugs. Thanks, Christine
It means brain activity, probably more of genetic and structural origin, are more similar between gay men and straight women. The same for gay women and straight men. In other words, a gay man has a brain a little bit more like a woman. A gay female has a brain a little bit more like a man. And the way the brain was studied in this particular case, shows these similarities in parts of the brain that cannot be explained away by some type of learned behavior..
You say “suggests a linkage to neurobiology entities” however, do you consider that homosexual’s thinking and behavior could alter the brain just as alcohol can? I struggle with your assessment because although I think you are a Christian Dr.Amen
I just can not conceive that God would create someone homosexual then forbid the behavior.
I have heard it said that at some point in our individual ’sexual evolution’, we are all bisexual…whether or not we act upon it as children. Do you think we can ‘environmentally’ predispose our brains to sexuality preferences? And please comment on the statement that ‘we are all bisexual.’
“I just cannot conceive that God would create someone homosexual then forbid the behavior”. Not a logical statement because he “creates” us all damaged, all prone to sin and expects us not to do what He has “forbidden”. After the fall, everything was fractured in the physical world and spiritual and emotional one as well. Mutations occur, and these happen in the soul as well as the body. One thing for certain, being homosexual is an incredibly hard cross to bear; harder, I think, than most.
There is the idea that it is this world that we are born into that is broken, that we were created to be whole, healthy, and living in peace and joy within a realationship with our creator. This is a corrupted world. We live with the consequences of sin. No matter what one’s religious thought, the fact of bad choices, ours or others, affects us. This study does not indicate the effect of choices on a brain. Like a scan of a brain affected by alcohol shows holes, the scan of homosexual brains can show changes. That does not tell us when these changes came about. This study shows a relationship between the HeM and the HoW and the HeW and the HoM brains. That is interesting, but don’t try to make it tell you more. Taxi cab drivers have a larger part of the brain that deals with mapping. Were they born to be drivers? Life isn’t easy for anyone. Sex isn’t easy for anyone. Pain isn’t easy. Choices aren’t all easy. Good choices, healthy choices, however, work for everyone. Take time to learn what works and what is healthy.
God is a spritual concept. Everyone can be spiritual without religion.
Only religion keeps use from being spiritual
Bev
“I just can not conceive that God would create someone homosexual then forbid the behavior.” Possible solution to this conundrum: God did not forbid the behavior. Just because writers in the Bible espoused rules for living that were appropriate in the context of their times does not mean that they came straight from God. The Bible declares that we should sacrifice certain animals on certain occasions for certain purposes; how many of us do that? It also says that we should not wear clothing made of blended materials; how many of us obey that law? Why should we focus on the prohibition against homosexuality as somehow sacrosanct, when we choose to disregard so many other supposed “commands” of God? Maybe the tendency toward homosexuality is just another example of the infinite variety hat God incorporated into his creation.
Or another possibility: maybe society has played a role in defining men with woman-like brains and women with male-like brains as gay. Perhaps if we just accepted people who think and function differently from the norm deemed acceptable by society, they would not see themselves as gay but simply different. Do we force people with differences into boxes?
Brain science is enlightening. So long as researchers don’t flatter their own proclivities. As for homo/hetero brain differences – no one would doubt that the thinking processes of homo vs. hetero are demonstrably different, since sexual desires are in the mind (brain). As I recall, Dr. Ruth, used to say that the biggest sex organ was the brain. Having said that, nevertheless, not all human sexual desires are equal. Human society demands that members not ‘act out’ and ‘act upon’ any and all fantasies and desires of the flesh: society today still discourages at least a few proclivities: beastiality, necrophilia, and sex with children (although there ia movement seeking the removal of pedophilia from the psychiatric diagnostic manual.) That there are a few who seek to render as “normal,” the behaviors that, of old, were discouraged as against human beings’ better nature, is not surprising. If people can conceive of it, some will seek to do it. But the anatomically correct use of one’s body ought to be advocated, for the public health and welfare, if for no other reason. As just one example, part P was designed for ‘mating’ with part V, not with the lower end of the alimentary canal, specifically designed by Mother Nature for the evacuation of human wastes. Simply because someone desires it, doesn’t make it a ‘good’. Hence, society discourages mating with one’s neighbor’s spouse, and with one’s close kin, and with one’s livestock. So, despite the fact that the brain plays a paramount role, not all thinking, along sexual lines, is ‘good’ and ‘licit’ — not all desires are to be indulged. Self control is still considered virtuous in civil society.
it is about time this has come about. I read about this soem years ago about how the brain had differences in Lesbians and Homosexuals. I am neither , but have noted the changes in how things are observed. I knew there was a brain component for years, and know of a teaching method in Califorina in the mid 1980’s that used this information to help those who sought changes in their brain patterns to go straight. I knew some who claimed this was so. But have not heard from them afterwards. I am glad it is out and in the public eye about the brain strutures of any persons who are different from what is considered the norm. Just like with Genuis brain waves and blood flow to the brain in it’s creative pathways. It make such sense. You are what you eat and I wonder are you what you feed your brain huh?
Dr. Amen: I would be curious as to whether your implication is that homosexuality is caused by the brain, or if the brain adapts itself to “become” the homosexual as influenced by homosexual beliefs and behavior? Causal relationship is not clear, and the data ends up being misleading because some people have jumped to the conclusion that “my brain made me this way”–are you saying that this statement is true?
“The function creates the organ”
Laura Tagge: IF in fact there is a Judeo-Christian GOD, the scientific facts show that homosexuality is not a choice but part of the whole physical makeup, including the brain. Please tell me what is so wrong with being homosexual? I would not expect YOUR GOD to create something he hates. Do you? That’s just hateful. Get with the program and knock it off – in other words, grow up and think for yourself.
Pastor George has it right. Bravo.
Dr. Amen-
I believe you would find it interesting to look at SPECT of my brain to compare to these findings, as I am fairly ambidextrous, bisexual, and whole brained. Have you ever looked at someone like that? We all fall somewhere on Kinsey’s (?) scale, but some of us are in the middle.
Alicia
As someone who is gay, but has chosen to no longer be in same-sex relationships because I am at peace that it is not God’s intent, I find these kinds of articles interesting. I would want to know more:
1. Causal relationship. Given the neuroplasticity of the brain did the homosexual activity lead to these differences? Or were these differences there at birth? I am assuming these images were done on adult men and women who were already active in homosexual relationships and probably for some time. What would the images have looked like for them as children or youth prior to acting out any attractions?
2. What about gender-nonconforming people who are not gay? I would like to see a study on straights who have stereotypical gender-nonconforming traits (e.g. artistic sensitive men). If their brains show up similar to homosexual brains, then the differences do not necessarily lead to the homosexual attraction. The differences are more related to gender-atypical behavior.
There is some indication that boys who are sexually abused have a somewhat higher rate of becoming homosexual. So their brains were affected by sexual arousal during abuse and learned to associate arousal with a male presence (the same is not true for females who have been sexually abused). I wonder what the brain images would look like for these individuals.
There are likely biological predispositions for sexual attraction, but that does not always become deterministic–there are also environmental factors that shape what happens with those predispositions.
There are many questions left unanswered by this study that would be interesting to explore.
Bev: Speak for yourself. Sorry about your luck!
There is absolutely no causal relationship proved or mentioned. Data is always dangerous as people tend to use them, in part or in whole, simply to verify THEIR belife system. In my opinion, just as caffine, alcohol, and even sugar, creates new pathways and neuronal changes in the brain so it is that this data shows that are thinking, feeling, and behaving on a daily basis changes our brains. It is easily hypothesized that ADULTS whom have been living the homosexual or heterosexual lifestyles will have different brains! To me, this is no different than looking at some ADULTS with a life of depression versus a life of rage (domestic violence) or even OCD will all have different brains. I am interested in knowing what kind of brains would PREDICT who will be homosexual and who will be hetersexual from birth. I understand the Review Board safety issues with testing new borns but assuming we had parental consent and sufficient safety measures….would brain spect science be able to accurately PREDICT (by examing new born brains of infants without any long histories of thinking, feeling, behaving on a certain lifestyle)which males and which females will become homosexual. If and when that happens we can accurately say “he/she was BORN that way.” FYI: this will not answer whether God made them that way or our FALLEN nature as humans through mutations in evolution caused brains to develop differently??? Thanks for listening.
The article concludes that “The results cannot be primarily ascribed to learned effects, and they suggest a linkage to neurobiological entities.” However, I’m not sure that we know enough to say this for sure. Aren’t we discovering how plastic and malleable the brain is, and how it remaps itself after each new experience? Also, there are prenatal influences, which may be hormonal, at work. This latter would certainly be subsumed as a “neurobiological entit(y)” but I’m not sure this study points to a necessarily genetic link.
As a F.F.L.a.G. (friend and family member of lesbians and gays) and a Christian my husband and I did alot of investigation into the causes of homosexuality and lesbianism. We found that the most objective sources are individuals who were in the gay lifestyle but subsequently left it. All of the gay (male) individuals had acknowledged that their fathers had rejected them emotionally and even if the youngsters perceived that they had been rejected (father may have been mentally or emotionally ill)the boy could not identify with his male parent, a hugely profound and complex phenomenon. Does it make sense that the changes Dr. Amen sees in the HoM brain was a result, not a cause, of homosexual identification? Emotions and hormones are connected, and hormones are incredibly complex biochemically. Sadly most lesbianism can be traced to sexual abuse. Perhaps some girls could have a biochemical predisposition to a more ‘male’ brain, but that doesn’t pre-determine their sexual orientation. Circumstances might, however.
The above study is interesting, but studies such as these demonstrate the “chicken and the egg” question: what comes first? Further studies are necessary to elucidate whether the observed phenomena in these scans are a manifestation of a particular learned routine set of behaviors/ affections/attitudes, or vice versa.
of course! If you r gay, be gay! If not, then don’t be or practice.
I tried posting a link to an article that more clearly explains this study, but the comment didn’t go through. So, I will re-post without the link.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, is a psychologist who specializing in sexual orientation. He wrote a blog post about this very study that adds clarity to the study Amen refers to. You can find it by googling, “Warren Throckmorton, Study Examines Brain Differences Related to Sexual Orientation.”
I tried posting a link to an article that more clearly explains this study, but the comment didn’t go through. So, I will re-post without the link.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, is a psychologist who specializes in sexual orientation. He wrote a blog post about this very study that adds clarity to the study Amen refers to. You can find it by googling, “Warren Throckmorton, Study Examines Brain Differences Related to Sexual Orientation.”
Pastor George,
Have you ever considered the thing called context? Did you forget that Christ on the Cross did away with the need for any other sacrifice? Therefore, to go along with you using context, in obedience to Christ today we do not need to sacrifice. If I did, I would not show that I trusted Christ’s death as payment in full for my sin. Your liiustration of the weaved cloth had to do only with the outer apprearance not the inward person. Sexuality goes to the ver core of a person.
Rather than congure up ideas why go the the Bible in the book of Romans where God simply states why he allows sexual behavior to exist outside of His design. The whole purpose for God having “Rules/laws” is because of His love for us. It’s the same reason a parent tells their kid not to play in the street. The parent knows the risk and damage. So it is with the One who created each of us.
Is seems that you did believe that God inspired and protected The Scriptures. The Bible is the most accurate document on the earth. Homer’s writing, which no one questions, is 95 % accurate and we have 643 copies of it to date. Tacticus is next with only 20 copies. The Bible on the other hand has over 14,000 copies dating within 100 years of the original. If you included the Old Testament it would bring you to over 24,000 with an accuracy rate of 99.5%. Please do not question God’s ability to protect His Holy Word.
I have learned that the brain changes and adapts to behavioral changes. Could those brain differences found between HeM/HoM and HeW/HoW be caused by the brain’s adaptation to the homosexual behavior?
Dear Ms. FFLAG,
If you would, do share with us your “impartial” sociological evidence proving that male homosexuality is caused by absent fathers and lesbianism by sexual abuse. Pie charts, bar graphs, or even color-coded, gender-specific pictographs will do just fine. I hope you will take my tongue-and-cheek commentary in the spirit in which it is meant, as I am sure no such evidence exists. I’m afraid, Ms. FFLAG, that you are no friend of lesbians and gays, but simply of people who, intimidated by the likes of you, continue to feel the need to make excuses for taking a “wrong turn.”
My question is are heterosexual and homosexual brains born different or is this a result from environment or behavior?
In one of your books it said you had a Dr. who wanted to see how her brain worked when she was in gratitude. You said that would only show something if you also scanned when she was not in gratitude. The scan of gratitude showed things working very well while ingratitude was affecting the brain negatively. Does it not stand to reason then that your brain would be different depending on your thoughts? You proved a point in those scans that what you think affects your brain. Not that your brain is the reason.
Are we suggesting that these brain changes may be genetic? If so why don’t we do twin studys with 1 gay and one not and see what the results are. We know that twin studys have confirmed that homosexualality is not genetic.
The ultimate causes of homosexuality are reincarnation and false identity. We all reincarnate thousands of times as men and women. Soul is not inherently sexual, but people in bodies are very sexual and naturally develop false identities.
One of the laws of our digital universe is that Yin energy must interact, flip, and flow into Yang energy — and vice versa. Also, people develop karma in one gender that can only be balanced by becoming the other gender. This can be a bummer.
When people over identify with a gender, through too much sex or culture, they are not free enough to adopt to the opposite gender when more physical polarity flips come due. This can happen to anybody and probably will happen to everybody, over time. So lighten up!
The important thing is that we love each other and stop judging things we don’t have the science to understand yet. The Bible has many teachings about reincarnation and it was the prevailing belief until the mass murderer Emperor Constantine banned it.
Finally, it is important to realize that your identity is fixed into your higher bodies, as a template or a morphogenetic field. This is what commands your genes; not God directly. So your “form” tries to follows your “identity”, even when nature has other plans. There is a struggle of non alignment there. This is what produces brain differences.
Everything is based on energy templates which guide flows of energy. All this is mutable and impermanent. Ultimately soul identifies with God which is above polarity, but this takes eons. So, again, lighten up.
I am inquiring about getting a few images of brains on drugs for a High School Health Fair. I run a non-profit drug prevention organization called Hearts of Hope outside of Chicago. Any chance of of purchasing some posters of those brains without too much cost in this present age. Non-profits are being hit the hardest.
Thanks,
Lea Minalga
Director
Hearts of Hope
13 S. 7th St.
Lower Level
Geneva, IL 60134
630.232.9210
Did not understand above.Please explain
Find it so interesting. Half my family is gay and most of us have accepted it. Its nice to see that you publish such good info for us to see and become smarter about our Brain and others. Wish everyone could have your info especially those in high school and in college. Glad the teacher, Ms Willis, above posted your Laminated Poster with the many Brain situations that says it all. Could you send one to me. Let me know by email. Thanks for sharing such great information to us all. Know you are helping to save lives by making our brain healthy!
Re: Pastor George
You are talking about OT mosaic law which as Christians, we are no longer under. If you are actually a pastor you would know this. Homosexuality is specifically addressed in the NT as well as the OT.
Re: Big Picture
The Bible does not mention reincarnation. Anywhere. Try reading it. Constantine had nothing to do with the canon of the Bible. That is a new age myth, not actual historical fact.
Just a thank you for your continued work of looking outside of the box for information and answers. I have watched this issue combined with religious fervor destroy my husband’s family. At least 3 of 5 grandson’s are gay, something all wish was different, but they have learned to copy with it despite much reject by much of the family. (What ever happened to tolerance, love and compassion, those are the things Christ taught. Christ told us nothing about homosexuality.) God made other species gay too, perhaps it is man not God who labels homosexuality evil. It is sad that such a wonderful person as my son will not bless this world with another as kind and wise as himself. As his mom I do grieve the loss of grandchildren I dreamed of however, I love my gay son and all my children whether they happen to be right handed or left handed, blue eyed or brown. Perhaps like many things it is simply a genetic difference. I do know my son thinks much like I do, and this was an interesting study. I wish my nephew’s mothers had been able to look outside the little box a church placed over her head causing much pain to her, her sons and the family. May she rest in peace.
I have the same question as several other posts: Did my brain cause my same-sex attraction or did early-age same-sex attraction change my brain?
Nonetheless, we don’t which came first. The brain differences or the activites that caused the brain to become different over time.
Thank you Brenda Harper for your enlightened, loving and compassionate post.
That said;
I am disgusted.
This is a great article and the next thing you know it has been hijacked by people who want to thump their religious beliefs.
I know I am being hypocritical by furthering the hijack by writing this post but the conversation about brain science was over several religious posts ago.
“I know what the bible says’ ‘no I know what the bible says” Blah Blah Blah…
This is a blog about brain science not about religion, or about YOUR god or your beliefs.
It seems that most everyone here that just had to mention that they are a Christian, sure seems to want to make a case that it is choice. Which makes them all sinners in your eyes so you can go back to your self righteous rhetoric and feel superior.
I am not an atheist but some of you people here are making it seem more and more attractive.
Please excuse me while I go throw up.
As a trained professional in the field of exercise science, I have learned how the body is designed to adapt to the physical demands that have been introduced to it. I would hypothesize, therefore, that our brains react in much the same way that our heart, lungs, muscles, bones, etc. [do].
Meaning that our brains and bodies are a product of the cumulative stresses (good and bad) and reprieves of our lives. Our physiology starts out the same from birth (for the most part – obviously there are gender differences chromosomally – as well as mutations in the genetic chain). Our form then follows our function, or in other words, we turn out according to way we steward the bodies / brains that we are given at birth.
Thank you for an interesting review of the Swedish brain imaging study. The comments posted seem to point to the need for more brain imaging studies regarding judgmental attitudes and religious fervor than gender/sexual orientation studies to settle the questions we really have regarding loving healthy attitudes, well being and peace among people.
Is it true that those who rely upon religious tenets have a smaller frontal cortex more similar to children than adults? This might account for the propensity of these people to confuse people who love others of the same sex with demons while giving all of their earthly possessions to self professed celibates who are actually practicing pedophiles preying upon their children…some sort of mix up between fantasy and reality.
Is it also true that religious fervor is centered close to the temporal lobe and can lead to temporal lobe damage or over activity in that region of the brain? As you’ve taught us, temporal lobe damage could account for those religious fanatics who sign up as suicide bombers and enjoy listening to hate radio. Lots more studies to do…
Lynne nailed it. One’s environment and circumstance in which they were raised play a huge role in the formation of a sexual identity. Countless scientific experiments have been done over the years and no “gay” gene was ever found. Check out http://www.gaytostraight.org for real objective truth on this subject. Noone chooses to have these feelings, but people can and do change their orientation.
Well said Dale…
Gee Jeff,
I looked at your christian biased web site and after 15 minutes of browsing was unable to find any scientific data, nor was I able to find any “objective truth”.
Show me the SCIENTIFIC studies that support your opinion. Show me the scientific studies on that site? Notice I am using the plural form, STUDIES.
The sites facts about homosexuality were not written by an M.D. or a PHD they were written by an M.A.
How can you say that there is anything objective on that site? Religion is not objective, it is subjective. It is not at all unbiased.
As to Lynn, she does not speak for FFLAG, and her comment is misleading in that it insinuates that FFLAG, an organization that supports gays and lesbians, support her opinion, they do not.
Hot topic Dr. Amen. Future subject for newsletter and Blog? Need plain English orientation.
Just because someone says the words “God”, “Bible” or “Christian” does not constitute religious fervor. Some of these comments were just in response to Pastor George. Nobody called anybody a sinner for being homosexual. I am confused as to some as these aggressive, hate-propaganda comments against religion. I almost feel like I’m posting with Richard Dawkins.
This was an interesting article about brain studies now every one has their knickers in a knot.
This subject deserves a whole book written on it with years of case studies etc.. Instead of an oh and by the Homosexual brains are different than heterosexual brains… Yes a study done in far off Sweden… What? You had a lot more credibility before this blog.
With so much at stake here… people’s lives etc.. don’t you think such an important topic deserves a lot more explanation….
Oh goodness, I never dreamed my comment would create such a stir!! I wish to say that I have absolutely no hate, judgement, dislike, or ANY ill will feelings toward ANYONE who says they are gay, homosexual. Infact, this subject brings me deep sadness and compassion as I have watched people suffer some very painful consequences as a result of acting upon their perceived “idenity”(for example I’ve taken care of AIDS patients, watched divorces and devastated spouses and children). I do read the Bible and found in both the Old and New Testament that God is against the behavior, never against the person. Furthermore, I wonder what you think about the theory of fear of intimacy and or attachment disorders connected with honosexuality?
The results of this study should be explained more clearly. The link b/w brain dimorphisms and sexual orientation isn’t causal, and that should be emphasized. Does having a dimorphic brain make you homosexual, or does being a homosexual alter your brain? This can’t be answered. Be careful of the conclusions you make from the article.
what is a wife to do? does reparative therapy have any affect on the brain for one who has been very active in gay lifestyleand wants out?
Has there been a study that compares pedophile brains with “normal” brains ? If so, and if there is a difference, then is it ok for the pedophile to carry out his/her instincts? If we decide that acting out our natural inclinations simply because we were created that way is legit behavior then are we not deciding that humans are free to do whatever pleases them at the moment? I’m asking. I don’t know all the answers — actually very few of them. I do know that in my heart is the ever present desire to do that which my better self knows is wrong. What’s with that? Can I disregard my conscience? Or is it possible to scar my conscience so profoundly that there is no longer any evil?
Interesting