I thought this was interesting...
I was reading my psychology textbook (so exciting, right?), and I found this:
There was apparently a study done with heterosexual women, heterosexual men, and homosexual men. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to study people's brain's responses to testosterone and estrogen based odors. The testosterone based odor caused a reaction in the heterosexual women, but not the heterosexual men. The estrogen based odor caused a reaction in the heterosexual men, but not the heterosexual women. Homosexual men responded to the testosterone based odor the same as heterosexual women, and in a follow-up study with homosexual women, the women responded to the estrogen based odor the same way a heterosexual man would.
I'm thinking about this more, and am wondering if, then, based on these studies, would bisexual men and women respond to both the testosterone based odor and the estrogen based odor? And do people who identify themselves as asexual not respond to either the testosterone odor or the estrogen odor? And do these studies "prove" that a person is born with their sexual preference and they can't make it a "lifestyle choice"? So many new questions, and I don't have the answers. I think if this study comes up in class, I'm going to ask my prof about this.
References the textbook gives for the studies:
Savic, I., Berglund, H., & Lindstrom, P. (2005). Brain response to putative pheromones in homosexual men. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 7356-7361.
Berglund, H., Lindstrom, P., & Savic, I. (2006). Brain response to putative pheromones in lesbian women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 8269-8274.
There was apparently a study done with heterosexual women, heterosexual men, and homosexual men. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to study people's brain's responses to testosterone and estrogen based odors. The testosterone based odor caused a reaction in the heterosexual women, but not the heterosexual men. The estrogen based odor caused a reaction in the heterosexual men, but not the heterosexual women. Homosexual men responded to the testosterone based odor the same as heterosexual women, and in a follow-up study with homosexual women, the women responded to the estrogen based odor the same way a heterosexual man would.
I'm thinking about this more, and am wondering if, then, based on these studies, would bisexual men and women respond to both the testosterone based odor and the estrogen based odor? And do people who identify themselves as asexual not respond to either the testosterone odor or the estrogen odor? And do these studies "prove" that a person is born with their sexual preference and they can't make it a "lifestyle choice"? So many new questions, and I don't have the answers. I think if this study comes up in class, I'm going to ask my prof about this.
References the textbook gives for the studies:
Savic, I., Berglund, H., & Lindstrom, P. (2005). Brain response to putative pheromones in homosexual men. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 7356-7361.
Berglund, H., Lindstrom, P., & Savic, I. (2006). Brain response to putative pheromones in lesbian women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 8269-8274.