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I've never heard of it

Posted by Your Resident Neuroscientist on 2011-April-29 18:01:31, Friday
In reply to Re: a quick comment posted by Neutrino on 2011-April-29 15:38:32, Friday

I obviously can't rule it out as false until I see some sort of evidence, but I've never heard of this case. What we know about sexuality is sketchy at best and it is clear that much of the research is biased. There have been a few brain areas found with anatomical or funtional differences across genders and sexual orientations but nothing like a "seat" of sexual orientation.

The question is whether sexual orientation is a local thing defined in one part of the brain or a distributed thing, where many areas are involved. Given what complex things sexuality and love are it seems likely that it is the latter, in which case a tumor affecting only a small area of the brain is unlikely to have a major impact.

The case martir mentioned is interesting. The poor fellow had a tumor that pressed up against his amygdala, an area heavily involved in emotion, having the effect in his case of persistent fear and aggression. This is what led to him shooting people with a sniper rifle.

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