by Jason Stotts
Transsexuals have long said that they feel like they are trapped in the body of the wrong sex. Well, now science is giving them evidence that their feelings are correct. A new study is providing evidence that the brains of transsexuals are more like the brains of the sex they feel they should be, instead of the sex they are.
Antonio Guillamon’s team at the National University of Distance Education in Madrid, Spain, think they have found a better way to spot a transsexual brain. In a study due to be published next month, the team ran MRI scans on the brains of 18 female-to-male transsexual people who’d had no treatment and compared them with those of 24 males and 19 females.
They found significant differences between male and female brains in four regions of white matter – and the female-to-male transsexual people had white matter in these regions that resembled a male brain (Journal of Psychiatric Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.006). “It’s the first time it has been shown that the brains of female-to-male transsexual people are masculinised,” Guillamon says.
In a separate study, the team used the same technique to compare white matter in 18 male-to-female transsexual people with that in 19 males and 19 females. Surprisingly, in each transsexual person’s brain the structure of the white matter in the four regions was halfway between that of the males and females (Journal of Psychiatric Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.007). “Their brains are not completely masculinised and not completely feminised, but they still feel female,” says Guillamon. (link)
It’ll be interesting to see where this line of inquiry leads and what else we can learn about sexual identity from our brains. At this point, however, all we can say is that there is some differences in the brains of transsexuals, but it is much too early and the sample size much too small to draw any real conclusions from the study.
Comments
4 responses to “Physical Differences Found in Transsexual Brains”
This evidence doesn’t support the transsexuals’ report, at least not any better than it supports rival views. It is just as possible that the brain develops differently in response to different patterns of thinking and feeling, as it is that the brain causes these patterns. It would be far more interesting if we also had knowledge of the brains of the same transsexuals at birth.
NS,
I don’t think there is any evidence at all that the mind can causes changes in the fundamental structures of the brain. Mind states causes brain state changes, certainly. The content of the mind causing the structure of the brain to change, really unbelievable. Frankly, I think the evidence does support their claim.
However, I also agree that more studies need to be done and ideally some longitudinal studies would help shed light on the (white/grey) matter.
~Jason
Actually, the fact that the white matter is not quite congruent with physical sex means that is is less likely it is some kind of thinking or feeling that causes this. Differences in the brain’s white matter have been known to cause many different neurological disorders, such as Tourette Syndrome and Locked-In Syndrome. These differences could lead to GID being classified as a neurological disorder, possibly, instead of a mental disorder. Obviously, they will need more information for it, but it is a step in the right direction to give these people the proper care they need.
hey jason!!
thank you for sharing this information. i am a transsexual and i am looking for the latest brain researches that are being done on transsexuality. can you help me with it ???
i would be grateful to you
regards
usman