Homosexuality: Inborn or Learned Behavior? (1)by Beth McHugh | More from this Blogger 10 Jun 2008 10:08 PM Scientists have long debated whether homosexuals are born or bred. Ongoing research by neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institutet, one of Europe's largest medical universities in Stockholm, Sweden, presents more evidence for the former being the case. Homosexuality has gone from being once classed as a mental illness to being regarded as either a sin or an acceptable variation of human behavior. Whatever your view, research in this area points to a biological origin for homosexual behavior. In the Swedish study, the scientists exposed heterosexual man and women as well as homosexual men to naturally-occurring chemicals containing male and female sex hormones. Both groups were asked to sniff male sweat which contains the male sex hormone testosterone. In addition, female urine was used as it contains an estrogen-like compound. The participants then underwent brain scans to determine brain activity as a result of sniffing these substances. Interestingly when all subjects smelled substances such as lavender or other natural or chemical-based entities, their brains, irrespective of sexual orientation, showed a reaction in the part of the brain that handled smell. However, when male sweat and female urine entered the picture, all that changed. A different physiological response was noted. After sniffing male and female sex hormones, the hypothalamus, a region of the brain responsible for many basic functions, including sexual response, differed significantly between gay and straight men. When the testosterone-based male sweat was offered to all group members, the hypothalamus was activated in the brains of heterosexual women and homosexual men, indicating a pronounced sexual response. There was no response in heterosexual men. In short, straight men were not turned on by male sweat, but straight women and gay men were. Conversely, the estrogen-based compound in female urine activated the hypothalamus of heterosexual man but not homosexual men. Thus the gay participants were not affected sexually by the smell of female sex hormone. We will look at the implications for these findings in coming articles. Contact Beth McHugh for further assistance regarding this issue. Want an easier way to keep abreast of Beth's latest blogs? By clicking on the "Subscribe via Email" link in the subscription box to the right, you will receive email notification of each new blog as it is published. Learn more about Beth McHugh  Beth McHugh began her career as a geologist and worked both in industry and as a university researcher. Relevantmental health tags sex | family | children | Scrapbooking | pregnancy | parenting | relationships | marriage | Kids | christmas User Comments tangerinelullaby (553) 10 Jun 2008 10:49 PMThis is an interesting article, and I also remember reading an article similar to this in Time Magazine if I'm not mistaken. :) I think it's only fair to see this people in a different light and not regard them as sinful or that they have a mental illness. This study has given justice to gays. They deserve respect just as we do. -Yvie http://tangerineslullaby.eachday.com  Beth McHugh (13186) 10 Jun 2008 11:09 PMThis is just one of several scientific studies which have found differences in brain structure between heterosexuals and homosexuals. PDeverit (283) 11 Jun 2008 12:23 AMThis is interesting. I've seen both kinds of conclusions, so I think homosexuality is inborn in some, and learned for others. Whatever sexuality one is born with, some things like abuse can definately interfere with its development. Samual (11722) 11 Jun 2008 01:28 PMI have seen and been part of many studies into this, not only do many gay men and women have an extremely similar hypothalamus e.g gay woman has one similar to a man and vice versa. Also there has been alot of research that has seen that a lot of gay men have kleinfelters, I am being tested soon as part of a study, especially as my older brother has kleinfelters and my little sister has the sex chromosome XXX. I really wish I had a reference, but a scientific experiment of 600 gay men revealed that over 95% of the men either had kleinfelters or a 'womans' hypothalamus. Half of the remaining 5% had suffered abuse as a child. I will have to look for it. Beth McHugh (13186) 11 Jun 2008 04:14 PMHi Samual, I look forward to reading the reference you have read. My understanding is that there is no link between Klinefelter's syndrome (or XXY males with an extra X chromosome) and homosexuality. giddymoon (5) 15 Nov 2008 08:54 PMThis doesn't prove anything. Smells are well known to activate the brian based on likes and dislikes or experiences. If my brain reacts positively to the smell of potroast, I was born to like potroast? No, potroast reminds me of my grandmother. If these are homosexuals actively living that lifestyle, of course their sense of smell will react to the same sex smells. They recall experiences. These are exactly that type of studies that muddy the water and prove nothing. The same goes for "Christians have the highest divorce rate" Yea, because they believe in getting married and not shacking up. Shall we begin on the absurdly high casual sex and under 1 year relationship count of homosexuals? If they married every person they had sex with, the numbers would be astronomical. Or how about, that heterosexuals have a lot of domestic violence. Has anyone does research on domestic violence in homosexual relationships, again, it matches and is HIGHER in male / male relationships than hetero relationships. These studies prove nothing but that the gay agenda constantly tries to murky up the water because they want moral acceptance without admitting it. Beth McHugh (13186) 16 Nov 2008 02:00 PMThis study involved the use of sex hormones to determine sexual response. The fact that you think of your grandmother when you smell potroast indicates only that a different part of your brain is being stimulated and not the area responsible for sexual response. Community Tags biological basis for homosexuali, difference in brain structure be, homosexuality, pheromones and homosexuality, role of hypothalamus in sexual r Discuss this article
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