Moonbird
08-21-2012, 03:55 PM
BRAIN PLASTICITY BACKS UP ORIENTATION CHANGE
Dr NE Whitehead
For most of the 20th Century brain researchers believed that the brain was a rigidly organised organ with fixed structures: each part having a distinct function that changed very little over time, except to atrophy.
But there is clear evidence now that the brain is plastic: living and responsive tissue, subject to considerable change at the micro-level in response to the things we do, imagine and think repeatedly.
Sex and gender researchers believing that the brain and its functions were more or less set, thought they might find evidence in the brain that homosexuality was hard-wired. They looked for signs that parts of the brain used in sexual activity were different in homosexuals and heterosexuals, that, for example, a homosexual male brain might be more like a female brain.
Almost without exception these numerous studies produced contradictory conclusions, and were not replicable. Although gay activism sought to use some of these findings to argue homosexuality is biologically ingrained, the most that can be said scientifically about them is that IF any differences exist they are probably the result of homosexual behaviour rather than the cause of it.
It is clear now that no-one is stuck with the type of brain they were born with. Our assumption now should be, change is possible in many behaviours – sexual orientation not excluded - and extraordinary effort will produce extraordinary change.
During the decades in which scientists used to think structures in the brain governed most behaviour, the onus was on objectors (whom we could call developmentalists) to show otherwise. The discoveries of the last decade or two reverse this. Behaviours (even reflexes) are so changeable with training that the onus is now on essentialists to prove that some particular behaviour is permanently governed by brain structure. Brain structure itself is definitely changed by experience and training. Essentialists must now show that not only are there brain differences, but that these were present at birth, are not the result of training or experience, and inevitably produce their results later in life. Apart from the grave logistic difficulties in the experiments we doubt this research will ever succeed. There is too much evidence the other way.
We change our brains at the micro-level through the way we exercise, and anything we do repetitively especially if associated with pleasure (e.g.) sexual activity. So, if brain scientists did find real differences between the brains of homosexuals and heterosexuals, this was probably the result of different sexual behaviours, not the cause of them.
There is also nothing permanent either about changes to brain microstructure as a result of learning and activity. Measurements of (radioactive) carbon-14 in human brains show that the average carbon atom stays about seven years in brain tissues. This means that the complete material of the brain is changed during a lifetime by substitutions of different atoms and brain cells - even in "permanent" nerve tissue (10). Nothing is hardwired beyond possibility of change. Anyone determined to change any behavior should be able to make a substantial difference in thinking and habit patterns within a decade, but usually much sooner.
The evidence is that post-natal training and experience are mostly responsible for the microstructure of brains.
We predict that some research may eventually show real and replicable differences, between homosexual and heterosexual brains, but this is primarily the result of consistent and intense behaviour - training, if you like.
Doidge gives a neurological principle: Neurons which fire together wire together. In human sexuality this means that if something extraneous is often associated with sexual arousal it will tend to become part of it. So, it becomes very reasonable to suppose that (for example) intense emotional focus on someone of the same sex might get triggered together with sexual excitement, and if frequently repeated can ultimately seem to be very deeply ingrained homosexuality.
Because of brain plasticity it’s quite possible that homosexuals can become more heterosexual and heterosexuals more homosexual, though persistent work could be needed, about equivalent to mastering a new musical instrument.
Summary
Scientists have not been able to find clear gender-related structural differences between the brains of boys and girls at birth. At that stage of life their properties and functions overlap almost entirely. The same is true for behaviors. Male and female behavior - let alone homosexuality and heterosexuality - is apparently not hardwired into the brain at birth. In fact, only one quarter of the brain is formed in a new-born child; the rest is developed through learning and experience (environmental input). We can be confident that whatever male/female differences exist in adult brains (and, no doubt, more will be found at some stage), they will be largely shaped by learning and behavior. But what learning and experiences do to the brain is not set in concrete either. Brain cells are replaced in roughly seven year cycles, meaning that new neuron pathways can be formed and old ones reshaped. Intensive exercise, training or imagination changes the brain microstructure. We are not victims of our biology or the experiences which shape the detail of our brain. Anatomy is not destiny; change is always possible. The brain is plastic and is in a constant state of change. Indeed the question is rather: what change is not possible?
We would not want to say that the structure of the brain you were born with has no effect. It has. It can be profound. But that structure can also be profoundly changed, and we don’t yet know the limits. They are probably sky-high.
http://www.mygenes.co.nz/Plasticity.htm
Dr NE Whitehead
For most of the 20th Century brain researchers believed that the brain was a rigidly organised organ with fixed structures: each part having a distinct function that changed very little over time, except to atrophy.
But there is clear evidence now that the brain is plastic: living and responsive tissue, subject to considerable change at the micro-level in response to the things we do, imagine and think repeatedly.
Sex and gender researchers believing that the brain and its functions were more or less set, thought they might find evidence in the brain that homosexuality was hard-wired. They looked for signs that parts of the brain used in sexual activity were different in homosexuals and heterosexuals, that, for example, a homosexual male brain might be more like a female brain.
Almost without exception these numerous studies produced contradictory conclusions, and were not replicable. Although gay activism sought to use some of these findings to argue homosexuality is biologically ingrained, the most that can be said scientifically about them is that IF any differences exist they are probably the result of homosexual behaviour rather than the cause of it.
It is clear now that no-one is stuck with the type of brain they were born with. Our assumption now should be, change is possible in many behaviours – sexual orientation not excluded - and extraordinary effort will produce extraordinary change.
During the decades in which scientists used to think structures in the brain governed most behaviour, the onus was on objectors (whom we could call developmentalists) to show otherwise. The discoveries of the last decade or two reverse this. Behaviours (even reflexes) are so changeable with training that the onus is now on essentialists to prove that some particular behaviour is permanently governed by brain structure. Brain structure itself is definitely changed by experience and training. Essentialists must now show that not only are there brain differences, but that these were present at birth, are not the result of training or experience, and inevitably produce their results later in life. Apart from the grave logistic difficulties in the experiments we doubt this research will ever succeed. There is too much evidence the other way.
We change our brains at the micro-level through the way we exercise, and anything we do repetitively especially if associated with pleasure (e.g.) sexual activity. So, if brain scientists did find real differences between the brains of homosexuals and heterosexuals, this was probably the result of different sexual behaviours, not the cause of them.
There is also nothing permanent either about changes to brain microstructure as a result of learning and activity. Measurements of (radioactive) carbon-14 in human brains show that the average carbon atom stays about seven years in brain tissues. This means that the complete material of the brain is changed during a lifetime by substitutions of different atoms and brain cells - even in "permanent" nerve tissue (10). Nothing is hardwired beyond possibility of change. Anyone determined to change any behavior should be able to make a substantial difference in thinking and habit patterns within a decade, but usually much sooner.
The evidence is that post-natal training and experience are mostly responsible for the microstructure of brains.
We predict that some research may eventually show real and replicable differences, between homosexual and heterosexual brains, but this is primarily the result of consistent and intense behaviour - training, if you like.
Doidge gives a neurological principle: Neurons which fire together wire together. In human sexuality this means that if something extraneous is often associated with sexual arousal it will tend to become part of it. So, it becomes very reasonable to suppose that (for example) intense emotional focus on someone of the same sex might get triggered together with sexual excitement, and if frequently repeated can ultimately seem to be very deeply ingrained homosexuality.
Because of brain plasticity it’s quite possible that homosexuals can become more heterosexual and heterosexuals more homosexual, though persistent work could be needed, about equivalent to mastering a new musical instrument.
Summary
Scientists have not been able to find clear gender-related structural differences between the brains of boys and girls at birth. At that stage of life their properties and functions overlap almost entirely. The same is true for behaviors. Male and female behavior - let alone homosexuality and heterosexuality - is apparently not hardwired into the brain at birth. In fact, only one quarter of the brain is formed in a new-born child; the rest is developed through learning and experience (environmental input). We can be confident that whatever male/female differences exist in adult brains (and, no doubt, more will be found at some stage), they will be largely shaped by learning and behavior. But what learning and experiences do to the brain is not set in concrete either. Brain cells are replaced in roughly seven year cycles, meaning that new neuron pathways can be formed and old ones reshaped. Intensive exercise, training or imagination changes the brain microstructure. We are not victims of our biology or the experiences which shape the detail of our brain. Anatomy is not destiny; change is always possible. The brain is plastic and is in a constant state of change. Indeed the question is rather: what change is not possible?
We would not want to say that the structure of the brain you were born with has no effect. It has. It can be profound. But that structure can also be profoundly changed, and we don’t yet know the limits. They are probably sky-high.
http://www.mygenes.co.nz/Plasticity.htm