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Sexual Orientation
SEXUALORIENTATION
Sexual Orientation, Hormones and the Brain
There are a number of theories which link homosexuality to hormones and the brain. One theory suggests that the amount of prenatal exposure to androgens results in subtle brain differences which could be responsible for homosexuality (Carlson, 2007). Androgens, male sex hormones which including testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, have a masculinizing effect. Thus, according to this theory, male homosexuals have neither masculinized nor feminized brains, female homosexuals have masculinized and defeminized brains, and homosexuals have masculinized but not defeminized brains. Of course, these are only speculations and must be supported by further research.
Another theory, based on the examination of the brains of deceased heterosexual women and heterosexual and homosexual men, found that the suprachiasmatic nucleus is smaller in heterosexual men and women and larger in homosexual men (Carlson, 2007). These examinations also found a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the hypothalamus to be larger in heterosexual men and smaller in homosexual men and heterosexual women. Finally, it was found that the anterior commissure in homosexual men and heterosexual women is larger and in heterosexual men it is smaller.
As a final example, Savic et al. studied the activation of the brain in heterosexual women and heterosexual and homosexual men in response to the odours of and EST, two chemicals which may act as human pheromones (Carlson, 2007). They found that the brains of homosexual men and heterosexual women responded similarly, and the brains of heterosexual men and women responded differently, suggesting that the response pattern is related to sexual orientation.
Of the theories mention in this paper, I believe the first one is the most accurate because it is the only theory which can explain the reasons for all forms of sexual orientation. The other two studied heterosexual men and women but only homosexual men, not homosexual women.
Reference
Carlson, N.R. (2007). Physiology of Behaviour (9th ed.). City, State: Allyn Bacon.
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