Abé Christoph, Johansson Emilia, Allzén Elin, Savic Ivanka
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2014 Dec 5;9(12):e114721. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114721. eCollection 2014.
Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated sex and also sexual orientation related structural and functional differences in the human brain. Genetic information and effects of sex hormones are assumed to contribute to the male/female differentiation of the brain, and similar effects could play a role in processes influencing human's sexual orientation. However, questions about the origin and development of a person's sexual orientation remain unanswered, and research on sexual orientation related neurobiological characteristics is still very limited. To contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to compare regional cortical thickness (Cth) and subcortical volumes of homosexual men (hoM), heterosexual men (heM) and heterosexual women (heW). hoM (and heW) had thinner cortices primarily in visual areas and smaller thalamus volumes than heM, in which hoM and heW did not differ. Our results support previous studies, which suggest cerebral differences between hoM and heM in regions, where sex differences have been reported, which are frequently proposed to underlie biological mechanisms. Thus, our results contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation.
先前的神经影像学研究表明，人类大脑在性别以及性取向上存在结构和功能差异。遗传信息和性激素的作用被认为有助于大脑的男性/女性分化，类似的作用可能在影响人类性取向的过程中发挥作用。然而，关于一个人性取向的起源和发展问题仍然没有答案，并且与性取向相关的神经生物学特征的研究仍然非常有限。为了有助于更好地理解性取向的神经生物学，我们使用磁共振成像（MRI）来比较男同性恋者（hoM）、异性恋男性（heM）和异性恋女性（heW）的区域皮质厚度（Cth）和皮质下体积。与heM相比，hoM（以及heW）主要在视觉区域的皮质更薄，丘脑体积更小，而hoM和heW之间没有差异。我们的结果支持先前的研究，这些研究表明在已报道存在性别差异的区域，hoM和heM之间存在大脑差异，这些区域经常被认为是生物学机制的基础。因此，我们的结果有助于更好地理解性取向的神经生物学。
