It's the kind of report that, at first blush, makes you say, "Yeah, and...?" That is, it doesn't come as much of a surprise. You'd be wrong to stop there, however, as this study of sexual attraction in the brains of lesbians could - given time and follow-up analysis - have societal implications:
Lesbian and heterosexual women respond differently to specific human odours, a brain-scanning study has found. The homosexual women showed similar brain activity to heterosexual men when they inhaled certain chemicals, which may be pheromones, the researchers say. [...]The pattern of activity in the brains of lesbians for both chemicals was similar - though not identical - to the pattern for heterosexual men. In May 2005, the same team showed that the brains of heterosexual women and homosexual men reacted in the same ways when they smelled either AND or EST.
The immediate reaction in many quarters of Blogistan is to hail the findings as proof of a biological basis for homosexuality. This response is almost certainly premature. Even the study's head reseacher warns that it's unclear whether the findings indicate a chicken...or an egg:
"Our study can't answer questions of cause and effect," cautions lead researcher Ivanka Savic at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "We can't say whether the differences are because of pre-existing differences in their brains, or if past sexual experiences have conditioned their brains to respond differently."
Critics of the study dispute the nature of the chemicals used, suggesting that they may not be pheremones and that in any event the concentrations used were too concentrated compared to natural human levels.
As suggested at Mombian, a website dedicated to providing "relevant, useful, and just plain fun reading for lesbian moms," further studies are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn, and the research team indeed intends to conduct additional work.
In the meanwhile, the next time you hear people spouting off about homosexuality being "just a lifestyle," suggest that they might want to hold off on that until all the facts are in.
(Product of a rigorous, double-blind cross-post...)
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