Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation

Abstract Biological sex differences in brain function and structure are reliably associated with several cortico-subcortical brain regions. While sexual orientation (hetero- versus homosexuality) has been similarly linked to functional differences in several phylogenetically-old brain areas, the res...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Mikhail Votinov, Katharina S. Goerlich, Andrei A. Puiu, Elke Smith, Thomas Nickl-Jockschat, Birgit Derntl, Ute Habel
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/73fcbd8c6fb24ca89ce977657720d618
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:73fcbd8c6fb24ca89ce977657720d618
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:73fcbd8c6fb24ca89ce977657720d6182021-12-02T13:34:58ZBrain structure changes associated with sexual orientation10.1038/s41598-021-84496-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/73fcbd8c6fb24ca89ce977657720d6182021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84496-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Biological sex differences in brain function and structure are reliably associated with several cortico-subcortical brain regions. While sexual orientation (hetero- versus homosexuality) has been similarly linked to functional differences in several phylogenetically-old brain areas, the research on morphological brain phenotypes associated with sexual orientation is far from conclusive. We examined potential cerebral structural differences linked to sexual orientation in a group of 74 participants, including 37 men (21 homosexual) and 37 women (19 homosexual) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Gray matter volumes (GMV) were compared with respect to sexual orientation and biological sex across the entire sample using full factorial designs controlling for total intracranial volume, age, handedness, and education. We observed a significant effect of sexual orientation for the thalamus and precentral gyrus, with more GMV in heterosexual versus homosexual individuals, and for the putamen, with more GMV in homosexual + than heterosexual individuals. We found significant interactions between biological sex and sexual orientation, indicating that the significant effect for the putamen cluster was driven by homosexual women, whereas heterosexual women had increased precentral gyrus GMV. Heterosexual men exhibited more GMV in the thalamus than homosexual men. This study shows that sexual orientation is reflected in brain structure characteristics and that these differ between the sexes. The results emphasize the need to include or control for potential effects of participants’ sexual orientation in neuroimaging studies. Furthermore, our findings provide important new insights into the brain morphology underlying sexual orientation and likely have important implications for understanding brain functions and behavior.Mikhail VotinovKatharina S. GoerlichAndrei A. PuiuElke SmithThomas Nickl-JockschatBirgit DerntlUte HabelNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mikhail Votinov Katharina S. Goerlich Andrei A. Puiu Elke Smith Thomas Nickl-Jockschat Birgit Derntl Ute Habel Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
description	Abstract Biological sex differences in brain function and structure are reliably associated with several cortico-subcortical brain regions. While sexual orientation (hetero- versus homosexuality) has been similarly linked to functional differences in several phylogenetically-old brain areas, the research on morphological brain phenotypes associated with sexual orientation is far from conclusive. We examined potential cerebral structural differences linked to sexual orientation in a group of 74 participants, including 37 men (21 homosexual) and 37 women (19 homosexual) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Gray matter volumes (GMV) were compared with respect to sexual orientation and biological sex across the entire sample using full factorial designs controlling for total intracranial volume, age, handedness, and education. We observed a significant effect of sexual orientation for the thalamus and precentral gyrus, with more GMV in heterosexual versus homosexual individuals, and for the putamen, with more GMV in homosexual + than heterosexual individuals. We found significant interactions between biological sex and sexual orientation, indicating that the significant effect for the putamen cluster was driven by homosexual women, whereas heterosexual women had increased precentral gyrus GMV. Heterosexual men exhibited more GMV in the thalamus than homosexual men. This study shows that sexual orientation is reflected in brain structure characteristics and that these differ between the sexes. The results emphasize the need to include or control for potential effects of participants’ sexual orientation in neuroimaging studies. Furthermore, our findings provide important new insights into the brain morphology underlying sexual orientation and likely have important implications for understanding brain functions and behavior.
format	article
author	Mikhail Votinov Katharina S. Goerlich Andrei A. Puiu Elke Smith Thomas Nickl-Jockschat Birgit Derntl Ute Habel
author_facet	Mikhail Votinov Katharina S. Goerlich Andrei A. Puiu Elke Smith Thomas Nickl-Jockschat Birgit Derntl Ute Habel
author_sort	Mikhail Votinov
title	Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
title_short	Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
title_full	Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
title_fullStr	Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
title_full_unstemmed	Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
title_sort	brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/73fcbd8c6fb24ca89ce977657720d618
work_keys_str_mv	AT mikhailvotinov brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT katharinasgoerlich brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT andreiapuiu brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT elkesmith brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT thomasnickljockschat brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT birgitderntl brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation AT utehabel brainstructurechangesassociatedwithsexualorientation
_version_	1718392743498088448

Brain structure changes associated with sexual orientation

Ejemplares similares