sexgenderneuropsych-blog - Tumblr blog

sexgenderneuropsych-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Personal Reflection

I decided to write my blog specifically on this topic as I am extremely passionate about the issues of the LGBTQ community, especially the trans community. I have been in a relationship with a female-to-male transgender man for over four years and we have been engaged since last year. Over the course of our relationship, I have formed an extreme passion for advocating for trans people and trans rights. I have done a lot of research on my own time in order to really understand the concept of gender and sex and how the social constructs of gender, binaries and stereotypes and one’s biological, anatomical sex are not the same thing and do not have to be binary to masculine man, or feminine female. Along with advocating and attempting to educate people on transgender people and their rights, comes a lot of stress and pain. It is difficult to understand the way trans people feel about themselves, as it is difficult to imagine being born in the wrong body if you are not. It is different to disregard one’s identity over a belief that has been instilled based on societal constructs, and has no real scientific basis or evidence to give reason to fight to invalidate how one identifies. I have witnessed transphobia firsthand many, many times and it is a very real thing. I have been personally, emotionally triggered by the things people have said to me about being with a trans man. People have attempted to make me feel less based on the fact that I am a “lesbian” because of the biological sex of my fiancé. This is incomparable to the experiences trans people face on a daily basis. Trans women of colour are murdered on a regular basis due to their identity. I believe that it should be a more prevalent research topic in the field of neuroscience, and biology as a whole, as people are not educated on the validity of being a transgender person, or having gender dysphoria. For example, there is one page in the entire textbook that discusses gender identity in relation to neuropsychology. This page really just gives a brief description of what gender dysphoria is and a very lighthearted summary of what trans people go through (HRT and surgery, which is much more complicated than just switching your hormones and a simple surgery - a mental health rollercoaster usually ensues for years before stability is achieved) It is extremely difficult for trans people to even understand the inner workings of their own mind, as it is hard to find relevant scientific information and research based on the topic, especially that is understandable for the general public. (As I was researching the peer-reviewed articles, many of them are not explained in a simplified manner and would be difficult for a non-academic reader to fully comprehend). When research is published, it must be looked for in the right place, or it is not usually found or seen. It is important for everyone to understand the concept of gender as a social construct and not something binary, or one-or-the-other. I hope in the future this topic can become talked about in a more widespread manner and more people are educated and able to understand this minority group.

1 note · View note

sexgenderneuropsych-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Sexism and Binaries in Neuroscience

Generally, neuroscience in relation to sex has been studied as very binary and “male-versus-female”. A neuroethics journal by Rumiati and Jordan-Young (2012) argues this is unethical and discusses the concept of “hardwiring” to believe there is a significant difference between the male and female brain. They argue that our hormones are said to influence our brain development permanently from a critical age and set in place permanent structures and functions that depend on sex/gender and define our sex/gender, and argue this is not a fact - although it is presented as one (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012). The theory is flawed as it compares the different brain structures to those of male and female genitals, which are generally easily distinguishable unlike male and female brain structures (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012). There are many average differences between the “male” and “female” brain, such as region sizes or functional differences, but there is no real indication that the human brain is “sex dimorphic” (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012). Research has also found that behavioural differences related to hormone exposure can change based on experiences and occurrences.

“Subsequent experiments have shown many of the sex-typed behaviours that are supposedly permanently organized by prenatal hormones can be dramatically modified, and even reversed, by simple and relatively short term behavioural interventions such as neonatal handling, early exposure to pups (in rats), and sexual experience, to cite just a few examples.” (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012).

When brain differences are measured between sexes, what is not taken into account is the other factors. For example, the social status, ethnicity and regionality of the subjects causes the data to vary due to the systematic advantages and disadvantages set in place societally and culturally are are inevitable by individuals (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012). For example, measuring the “intelligence” of a group of students does not measure their biological intelligence, but their knowledge based on what they have had the opportunity to learn; This varies, again, based on their social status, ethnicity and nationality (Rumiati & Jordan-Young, 2012).

0 notes

sexgenderneuropsych-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Intrinsic networks and own body perception in transsexual people

“In FtM, higher "self" ratings for bodies morphed towards the sex of their gender identity were associated with greater connectivity of the anterior cingulate within the DMN, during long viewing times. In controls, higher ratings for bodies morphed towards their gender assigned at birth were associated with right insula connectivity within the salience network, during short viewing times. Within visual networks FtM showed weaker connectivity in occipital and temporal regions. Results suggest disconnectivity within networks involved in own body perception in the context of self in GD. Moreover, perception of bodies in relation to self may be reflective rather than reflexive, as a function of mesial prefrontal processes.” (Feusner et al., 2017).

Research findings from Feusner et al. (2017) suggest that there are neurobiological associations with the self-perception of individuals with gender dysphoria. The research studied individuals who identified specifically as female-to-male (FtM) transgender and compared certain neurobiological processes related to their own body perception and self-reflection (default mode network/DMN and salience network, along with visual networks) to those of the cisgender female and male control groups (Feusner et al., 2017).

Data collected states that the FtM individuals self-related to body images matching their gender identity and this was congruent with connectivity in the DMN - known to be involved in self-referential processing (Feusner et al., 2017). Male and female control groups display the opposite connectivity patterns, and self-relate to their male or female body image and not that of the opposite sex, which suggests that the brain connectivity structures of FtM individuals is not the same as that of an average cisgender, heterosexual male or female (Feusner et al., 2017).

FtM individuals showed weaker connectivity in visual networks. Perceiving the body as “self” requires the function of a complex network along the posterior axis which includes a body-detection network (parieto-occipital) and self-body identification network (fronto-parietal) in which the FtM individuals showed said weaker connection, evident during long viewing duration (Feusner et al., 2017). This suggests that the processes of FtM and transgender individuals tends to be reflective of the self, whereas cisgender peoples’ processes would be reflexive and automatic, due to the fact that the difference in data is present during long viewing times which allow for the brain to process more fully what the eyes are viewing and making it less of an immediate reflexive process (Feusner et al., 2017).

In control groups, the perception of their morphed body (to the opposite anatomical sex) as self covaried with the right insular cortex within the salience network - during short viewings - which was not the case with FtM individuals (Feusner et al., 2017). This process is more reflexive than that of the DMN, which suggests lesser participation of these networks for a number of possible reasons, likely that the systems differ within trans individuals compared to cisgender individuals (Feusner et al., 2017).

These findings suggest that the neurobiology of transgender individuals differs from that of cisgender individuals, specifically in networks related to self-body perception and body-detection (Feusner et al., 2017). This could represent a neurobiological correlate of transsexualism and strengthens evidence of measurable biological patterns associated with it (Feusner et al., 2017). Though further research is necessary to confirm more information, this research is very important to the understanding of the brain functions transgender people.

DOI:10.1007/s11682-016-

0 notes

sexgenderneuropsych-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Gender Identity and Neuropsychology

Transsexual, transgender and gender non-conforming/neutral/queer individuals are a community that do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. There is a wide spectrum of transgender people, such as transsexual individuals, and gender neutral or fluid individuals - which are different gender identities that fall under the trans umbrella. Transsexual people are individuals who identify with the opposite gender than their assigned sex/gender - male-to-female, or female-to-male. Gender neutral people are individuals who identify their gender as more fluid - or neutral - as they do not feel they fit into a binary label of gender, and prefer to identify as neither gender, using they/them pronouns most of the time. Gender is a complex topic that cannot be limited to male and female, or stereotypes and binaries.

This blog will focus primarily on the neuropsychological mechanisms that relate to transsexualism, meaning people who specifically identify with the opposite sex/gender than that assigned to them at birth. Transsexual people have inconsistencies between their gender identity and biological sex, meaning they were born in the body of a female with the mind of a male, or vice-versa. “It is important to appreciate the desperation of these individuals; they do not merely think that life might be better if their gender were different.” (Pinel & Barnes, 2018). Trans people seek sexual reassignment surgery in order to match their body to their brain. This means they have surgeries performed in order to, in the case of female-to-male, have their breasts removed and have a penis created through surgery to have a male body. Male-to-female surgeries are having breast implants added and the penis removed, and a vagina created to have a female body.

Prior to this, they go through counselling and psychiatric assessment to determine that they are, in fact, transsexual and eligible for hormone treatment and sexual reassignment surgery (Pinel & Barnes, 2018). Once this is assessed and confirmed by a professional, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is prescribed by a physician or registered nurse (RN) and eventually (varies by individual) they receive reassignment surgeries, if and when that is what they see necessary for their well-being.

This blog will discuss several topics related to the neuropsychological mechanisms of transsexual people.

1 note · View note