Washington - Researchers who found homosexual rams in a herd of sheep said they had found changes in the brains of the "gay" animals.
The results, published in the latest issue of the Journal Endocrinology, tend to support studies in humans that have found anatomical differences in the brains of heterosexual and homosexual men.
Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine found certain groups of brain cells were different between rams and ewes in a part of the sheep brain controlling sexual behaviour. In rams that preferred to mate with other males, this area was smaller than in males that preferred females.
Continues Below ↓
"There's a difference in the brain that is correlated with sexual partner preference rather than the gender of the animal you're looking at," said Kay Larkin, an OHSU electron microscopist.
"This particular study, along with others, strongly suggests that sexual preference is biologically determined in animals, and possibly in humans," added Charles Roselli, a professor of physiology and pharmacology who led the research team.
Animal experts have found that about eight percent of domestic rams display preferences for other males as sexual partners. - Sapa-Reuters
-
This article was originally published on page 4 of The Star on March 09, 2004
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
