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Corpus Callosum Anatomy in Right-Handed Homosexual and Heterosexual Men

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Abstract

The results of several studies have shown that homosexual men have an increased prevalence of non-right-handedness and atypical patterns of hemispheric functional asymmetry. Non-right-handedness in men has been associated with increased size of the corpus callosum (CC), particularly of the isthmus, which is the posterior region of the callosal body connecting parietotemporal cortical regions. We hypothesized that isthmal area would be greater in homosexual men, even among right handers. Twelve homosexual and ten heterosexual healthy young men, all consistently right-handed, underwent a research-designed magnetic resonance imaging scan. We found that the isthmal area was larger in the homosexual group, adding to the body of findings of structural brain differences between homosexual and heterosexual men. This result suggests that right-handed homosexual men have less marked functional asymmetry compared to right-handed heterosexual men. The results also indicate that callosal anatomy and laterality for motoric functions are dissociated in homosexual men. A logistic regression analysis to predict sexual orientation category correctly classified 21 of the 22 men (96% correct classification) based on area of the callosal isthmus, a left-hand performance measure, water level test score, and a measure of abstraction ability. Our findings indicate that neuroanatomical structure and cognition are associated with sexual orientation in men and support the hypothesis of a neurobiological basis in the origin of sexual orientation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grants NIH NS18954 and MRC 10610 to S.F.W. A.S. held an Ontario Mental Health Foundation fellowship and D.M.K. held an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, while at McMaster University. We thank Dr. Charles Goldsmith, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, for statistical advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 1200 Main St. W, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3Z5, Canada

    Sandra F. Witelson & Debra L. Kigar

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Anton Scamvougeras

  3. Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    David M. Kideckel

  4. Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Brian Buck & Sandra Black

  5. Department of Science and Mathematics, Kettering University, Flint, MI, USA

    Peter L. Stanchev

  6. Imaging Research, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michael Bronskill

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  1. Sandra F. Witelson
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  8. Sandra Black
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Correspondence to Sandra F. Witelson.

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Witelson, S.F., Kigar, D.L., Scamvougeras, A. et al. Corpus Callosum Anatomy in Right-Handed Homosexual and Heterosexual Men. Arch Sex Behav 37, 857–863 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9276-y

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