A sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity
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In this article, the authors investigated the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus, which is composed of two sub-nuclei, namely interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus (INAH) 3 and 4, and found that the most pronounced differences were found in the INAH3 subnucleus.Abstract:
Transsexuality is an individual's unshakable conviction of belonging to the opposite sex, resulting in a request for sex-reassignment surgery. We have shown previously that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) is female in size and neuron number in male-to-female transsexual people. In the present study we investigated the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus, which is composed of two subnuclei, namely interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus (INAH) 3 and 4. Post-mortem brain material was used from 42 subjects: 14 control males, 11 control females, 11 male-to-female transsexual people, 1 female-to-male transsexual subject and 5 non-transsexual subjects who were castrated because of prostate cancer. To identify and delineate the nuclei and determine their volume and shape we used three different stainings throughout the nuclei in every 15th section, i.e. thionin, neuropeptide Y and synaptophysin, using an image analysis system. The most pronounced differences were found in the INAH3 subnucleus. Its volume in thionin sections was 1.9 times larger in control males than in females (P 0.117) and females (volume P > 0.245 and number of neurons P > 0.341). There was no difference in INAH3 between pre-and post-menopausal women, either in the volume (P > 0.84) or in the number of neurons (P < 0.439), indicating that the feminization of the INAH3 of male-to-female transsexuals was not due to estrogen treatment. We propose that the sex reversal of the INAH3 in transsexual people is at least partly a marker of an early atypical sexual differentiation of the brain and that the changes in INAH3 and the BSTc may belong to a complex network that may structurally and functionally be related to gender identity.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Polymicrogyria of the Unilateral Temporal Lobe in a Transsexual Patient—Case Report
TL;DR: This is a unique finding of the unilateral temporal polymicrogyria in a person with transsexualism, and an unusual gyrisation on the left temporal lobe which had a picture of partial poly microgyria is revealed.
Book ChapterDOI
Sex differences in the forebrain.
TL;DR: Structural and functional sex differences are present in the human forebrain nuclei that can partly be related to changes in circulating plasma estrogen levels and possibly also to neurosteroid production in the brain.
Dissertation
Gêmeos monozigóticos discordantes para transexualidade: diferenças neuroanatômicas e psicológicas
Journal ArticleDOI
Gender identity: Creating a supportive school culture
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the importance of shaking up pre-conceived ideas about gender and provide advice on creating a supportive school culture for transgender children and young people, who are too scared to tell anyone.
References
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