A new brain-imaging study of young adolescents has shown that sex and
gender map onto different brain networks. The findings, published on
Friday in Science Advances, demonstrate the importance of considering the
social impact of gender in neuroscience research rather than conflating it
with physiological sex.

�Moving forward, we really need to consider both sex and gender separately
if we want to better understand the brain,� said study co-author Elvisha
Dhamala, a neuroscientist at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical
Research, in a recent press conference.

Physiological sex is largely determined by chromosomes, genes, hormones
and other biological systems. On top of that, cultural ideas about what it
means to be, for example, a man, woman or nonbinary person�what we call
gender�also play a critical role shaping people�s life and behavior.
Scientists understand sex and gender to be related yet distinct concepts,
but they are often conflated in neuroscience research. This means that
differences between the brains of people who are assigned male or female
at birth are often taken as reflections of biological differences when
they could very well be the result of how each group is treated based on
cultural expectations.

�The influence of being treated as a woman or as a man in our society is
ignored� in neuroscience research, says Lara M. Wierenga, a neuroscientist
who studies gender differences in brain development at Leiden University
in the Netherlands and was not involved in the new research. �But we also
know that the brain is very plastic, very open to experiences,� which can
differ greatly between people assigned female or male at birth, she says.

For the new study, Dhamala�s team wanted to know what the field might be
missing by ignoring the social impact of gender. The researchers worked
with data from a large and ongoing longitudinal study of U.S. adolescents
to compare brain scan data with questionnaire responses about the
participants� sex and gender from them and their parents.

While the researchers expected sex to be associated with differences in
activity in certain brain networks, beyond that, �we had no idea whether
or not [gender] would map onto the brain and also no idea where it would
map onto the brain,� Dhamala says.

The study researchers analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) data from 4,757 children aged nine or 10 years old. The fMRI
scanner captured �resting-state� activity across different brain regions
that occurs when someone is awake but not engaged in a specific task. The
young participants had also been asked four questions about their feelings
about their gender (such as �How much do you feel like a boy?�), and their
parents had been asked 12 questions about how their child talked about
their gender and how they engaged in play activities that are
stereotypically �for boys� or �for girls.�

The researchers fed the brain-scan data, along with information about each
participant�s sex, into a machine-learning model, which learned to pick
out subtle differences in the activity of certain regions of the brain
between the male and female groups. Then they tested the model on data it
had not yet seen by asking it to predict participants� sex based on their
brain scans, which it accomplished with 77 percent accuracy.

Next, the researchers went on to train another machine-learning model to
make predictions from the preteens� and parents� reports about gender. But
because sex and gender are so strongly related to each other, the brain
networks associated with each largely overlapped. To bring gender into
clearer view, the team analyzed the participants� gender variation
separately by sex. This showed how and where brain activity differed
between people who had been assigned the same sex at birth but had varying
feelings and expression of their gender.

Finally, the researchers compared the networks associated with gender
differences with those associated with sex differences. They found that
while there was some overlap, these groups of networks were largely
different from one another, though this difference was only statistically
significant for the parent-reported gender data, not the self-reports.
(The study authors think the self-report questionnaire was not sensitive
enough to capture differences in how children think and feel about their
gender.)

The brain networks unique to sex but not gender included networks with
more well-defined roles in the brain, such as the visual network and motor
network. Conversely, the networks that showed gender but not sex
differences were more dispersed throughout the brain. It�s too soon to
draw conclusions about why some networks were associated with sex and not
gender and vice versa, Dhamala says: �We have no idea right now� if those
differences relate to differences in behavior.

�This is really the first time that it�s shown in such a large dataset
that not only sex but also gender is related to the way the brain is
wired,� Wierenga says. �The expectations that we have [based on gender],
they do matter.� This is important to understand because gender-related
differences in the brain could impact how psychiatric disorders manifest
across the gender spectrum, especially those that are underdiagnosed in
people who were assigned female at birth (such as attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD) or who were assigned male (such as
anxiety and mood disorders), Wierenga says.

Because the research was only done in children, it�s also not clear
whether gender would map onto the brain differently from sex in adults,
though Wierenga says she expects that this pattern would hold.

Dhamala�s team plans to rerun similar analyses on the same group of
children as they grow. �These are still very young kids. And as they go
through adolescence and into adulthood, their brain networks and their
functional connectivity is going to be changing,� she says. In the
meantime, the researchers say, other teams could begin testing gender as
well as sex in their research to yield a clearer picture of brain-based
differences throughout life.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-and-gender-map-onto-
different-brain-networks-in-children/

James Hodgkinson wrote:

> (leftist claptrap snipped)

Nothing is "assigned" at birth. There is only observation.

How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?

chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>> (leftist claptrap snipped)

"Snip" what you can't refute, you mean.

>Nothing is "assigned" at birth.

Transphobic.

> There is only observation.
>
>How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
>people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
>going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?

The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine. I tend to agree about
surgeries but don't wish to stop anyone 16-18+ from doing them.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

[Default] Joel <joelcrump@gmail.com> typed:

>chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> (leftist claptrap snipped)
>
>
>"Snip" what you can't refute, you mean.
>
>
>>Nothing is "assigned" at birth.
>
>
>Transphobic.

Once again. Joel tried-- and fails -- to weaponize 'phobia' to avoid
debating arguments he can't hope to win.

LOL

Klaus Schadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreude.Zwergentöter.@gmail.com>
wrote:

>>Transphobic [in reply to someone other than Klaus].
>
>Once again. Joel tried-- and fails -- to weaponize 'phobia' to avoid
>debating arguments he can't hope to win.
>
>LOL

You're a phobe and a moron. LOL.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

[Default] Joel <joelcrump@gmail.com> typed:

>Klaus Schadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreude.Zwergentöter.@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>>Transphobic [in reply to someone other than Klaus].
>>
>>Once again. Joel tried-- and fails -- to weaponize 'phobia' to avoid
>>debating arguments he can't hope to win.
>>
>>LOL
>
>
>You're a phobe and a moron. LOL.

Yet again, Joel runs away from his impotent attempt to weaponize
'phobia' to avoid debating arguments he can't hope to win.

He's actually so stupid he thinks sex and gender-- which are the exact
same thing-- are "assigned."

"Laugh laugh laugh laugh."
-Lee Harrison 1957-2012, RIP

Joel wrote:

>The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.

Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?

The medical profession is OK with that. More money for them. Once
you're on the trans train, you're a patient for life.

chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote in
news:s19n9jh80codn8db5tf642332emo0n821j@4ax.com:

> James Hodgkinson wrote:
>
>> (leftist claptrap snipped)
>
> Nothing is "assigned" at birth. There is only observation.
>
> How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
> people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
> going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?

Where do you draw the line between temporary fantasy and mental illness?

Mental illness should be treated, not encouraged.

chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>>The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.
>
>Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
>functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?

They don't do nothing but harm, they save lives, and surgery does for
some people.

>The medical profession is OK with that. More money for them. Once
>you're on the trans train, you're a patient for life.

Might be time for it to go OTC but upon request and not just lying
around. Certainly anyone 16+ at least should have access to this. It
would not be illegal for people younger.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

In news:i03o9jtk0s7s484u7mhsgkptibu6vo2lvt@4ax.com, Joel <joelcrump@gmail.com>
typed:

> chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>>> The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.

>> Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
>> functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?

> They don't do nothing but harm, they save lives, and surgery does for
> some people.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/puberty-blockers-could-cause-long-term-fertility-health-boys-study-may-be-permanent

On 20 Jul 2024, "max headroom" <maximusheadroom@gmx.com> posted some
news:v7hplj$3q9qn$2@dont-email.me:

> In news:i03o9jtk0s7s484u7mhsgkptibu6vo2lvt@4ax.com, Joel
> <joelcrump@gmail.com> typed:
>
>> chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>> The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.
>
>>> Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
>>> functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?
>
>> They don't do nothing but harm, they save lives, and surgery does for
>> some people.
>
> https://www.foxnews.com/health/puberty-blockers-could-cause-long-term-f
> ertility-health-boys-study-may-be-permanent

European Countries Restrict Trans Health Care for Minors

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-07-12/why-
european-countries-are-rethinking-gender-affirming-care-for-minors

Then there is Canada.

Medical gender transition among minors: is Quebec moving too fast?

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numerique/8610/transition-genre-
testoterone-choix-dysphorie-sante-mentale

sand creek wrote:

> chrisv wrote:
>>
>> Nothing is "assigned" at birth. There is only observation.
>>
>> How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
>> people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
>> going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?
>
>Where do you draw the line between temporary fantasy and mental illness?
>
>Mental illness should be treated, not encouraged.

Hell, the leftists celebrate it! "Oh, you're so brave."

How about "No, you're so confused." and then go after the cultists and
weirdos who confused them.

"max headroom" <maximusheadroom@gmx.com> wrote:
>In news:i03o9jtk0s7s484u7mhsgkptibu6vo2lvt@4ax.com, Joel <joelcrump@gmail.com>
>typed:
>> chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>> The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.
>
>>> Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
>>> functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?
>
>> They don't do nothing but harm, they save lives, and surgery does for
>> some people.
>
>https://www.foxnews.com/health/puberty-blockers-could-cause-long-term-fertility-health-boys-study-may-be-permanent

Certainly people should engage in GAC access with clear knowledge of
what they're involved in.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

"chrisv" <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:s19n9jh80codn8db5tf642332emo0n821j@4ax.com...
> James Hodgkinson wrote:
>
>> (leftist claptrap snipped)
>
> Nothing is "assigned" at birth. There is only observation.
>
> How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
> people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
> going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?

<Clap> <Clap> <Clap>

If it takes chemicals and knives, then you're not accepting who you are.

"Joel" <joelcrump@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ugmn9jtthmf2j7mse7tof87br79ff2fd8b@4ax.com...
> chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> (leftist claptrap snipped)
>
>
> "Snip" what you can't refute, you mean.
>
>
>>Nothing is "assigned" at birth.
>
>
> Transphobic.

Facts are Transphobic?

>
>
>> There is only observation.
>>
>>How about we just accept that people are different. How about we help
>>people accept who they are, and not put them on the "trans train" and
>>going to war on their bodies with chemicals and knives?
>
>
> The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine. I tend to agree about
> surgeries but don't wish to stop anyone 16-18+ from doing them.

Not when the chemicals are there to support the delusion rather than the
reality.

And speaking of delusions, you can't even acknowledge the reality. Instead
you hide within your self delusions.

"Joel" <joelcrump@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:u2pn9j5epe96acv80447qakqb8pckpqo7f@4ax.com...
> Klaus Schadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreude.Zwergentöter.@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>>Transphobic [in reply to someone other than Klaus].
>>
>>Once again. Joel tried-- and fails -- to weaponize 'phobia' to avoid
>>debating arguments he can't hope to win.
>>
>>LOL
>
>
> You're a phobe and a moron. LOL.

Joel, you need to keep repeating that in your mirror, until you accept it.

In news:8hsq9jd8akscemesgigipmpojoqvt13ehi@4ax.com, Joel <joelcrump@gmail.com>
typed:

> "max headroom" <maximusheadroom@gmx.com> wrote:
>> In news:i03o9jtk0s7s484u7mhsgkptibu6vo2lvt@4ax.com, Joel
>> <joelcrump@gmail.com> typed:
>>> chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>>>>> The "chemicals" are a lifeline, medicine.

>>>> Medicines that do nothing but interfere with normal, healthy bodily
>>>> functions, ultimately doing nothing but harm, huh?

>>> They don't do nothing but harm, they save lives, and surgery does
>>> for some people.

>> https://www.foxnews.com/health/puberty-blockers-could-cause-long-term-fertility-health-boys-study-may-be-permanent

> Certainly people should engage in GAC access with clear knowledge of
> what they're involved in.

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/07/13/new-brit-government-to-permanently-ban-puberty-blockers-n3791740