title: Homosexual women have less grey matter in perirhinal cortex than heterosexual women.
abstract: Is sexual orientation associated with structural differences in the brain? To address this question, 80 homosexual and heterosexual men and women (16 homosexual men and 15 homosexual women) underwent structural MRI. We used voxel-based morphometry to test for differences in grey matter concentration associated with gender and sexual orientation. Compared with heterosexual women, homosexual women displayed less grey matter bilaterally in the temporo-basal cortex, ventral cerebellum, and left ventral premotor cortex. The relative decrease in grey matter was most prominent in the left perirhinal cortex. The left perirhinal area also showed less grey matter in heterosexual men than in heterosexual women. Thus, in homosexual women, the perirhinal cortex grey matter displayed a more male-like structural pattern. This is in accordance with previous research that revealed signs of sex-atypical prenatal androgenization in homosexual women, but not in homosexual men. The relevance of the perirhinal area for high order multimodal (olfactory and visual) object, social, and sexual processing is discussed.
authors: Section of Sexual Medicine, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany. ponseti@sexmed.uni-kiel.de
authors: Jorge
authors: J
authors: Ponseti
authors: Hartwig R
authors: HR
authors: Siebner
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Klöppel
authors: Stephan
authors: S
authors: Wolff
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Granert
authors: Olav
authors: O
authors: Jansen
authors: Hubertus M
authors: HM
authors: Mehdorn
authors: Hartmut A
authors: HA
authors: Bosinski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality; D018452:Homosexuality, Female; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
references: Neuroscience. 2003;122(3):599-607
references: 14622903
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 May 17;102(20):7356-61
references: 15883379
references: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1997 Nov;21(8):1231-7
references: 9460088
references: Neuroimage. 2003 Oct;20(2):713-28
references: 14568446
references: Cereb Cortex. 2007 Jul;17(7):1550-60
references: 16945978
references: Behav Genet. 2000 Jul;30(4):345-56
references: 11206089
references: Cereb Cortex. 2001 Jun;11(6):490-7
references: 11375910
references: Neurobiol Aging. 2004 Mar;25(3):377-96
references: 15123343
references: Experientia. 1991 Jul 15;47(7):712-5
references: 2065768
references: Neuropsychologia. 1985;23(5):667-72
references: 4058710
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2006 Apr;27(4):314-24
references: 16124013
references: Neuroimage. 2003 Apr;18(4):880-94
references: 12725764
references: Science. 1991 Aug 30;253(5023):1034-7
references: 1887219
references: Neuroimage. 2002 Apr;15(4):870-8
references: 11906227
references: Neuroimage. 2000 Jun;11(6 Pt 1):805-21
references: 10860804
references: Annu Rev Sex Res. 2002;13:89-140
references: 12836730
references: Neuroimage. 2006 Nov 15;33(3):825-33
references: 16979350
references: Neuroimage. 2006 Oct 15;33(1):362-73
references: 16949839
references: Neuroimage. 2005 Jun;26(2):493-501
references: 15907306
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Aug 1;89(15):7199-202
references: 1496013
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Sep;14(3):685-700
references: 11506541
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Jul;14(1 Pt 1):21-36
references: 11525331
references: Brain Res. 2006 Oct 20;1116(1):103-11
references: 16942757
references: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005;29(7):1057-66
references: 16143171
references: Horm Behav. 2001 Sep;40(2):86-92
references: 11534967
references: Neuropsychologia. 1971 Mar;9(1):97-113
references: 5146491
references: Horm Behav. 2005 Jan;47(1):92-8
references: 15579270
references: Neuroimage. 2006 May 15;31(1):31-8
references: 16426865
references: Physiol Behav. 2004 Sep 30;82(4):653-62
references: 15327913
references: Biol Psychol. 1996 Sep 27;44(1):31-54
references: 8906356
references: J Psychiatr Res. 2007 Nov;41(9):753-62
references: 16876824
references: Brain Res. 2002 May 17;936(1-2):95-8
references: 11988236
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 May 23;103(21):8269-74
references: 16705035
references: Brain Res. 1990 Dec 24;537(1-2):141-8
references: 2085769
references: Can J Psychol. 1991 Dec;45(4):507-22
references: 1777850