Gay In The Blink Of An Eye
by Peter Moore
London Bureau
Posted: October 3, 2003 12:01 a.m. ET
(London) British psychologists say they have found strong evidence to support the theory that a person's sexuality is "hard-wired" into the brain before birth.
Researchers from the University of East London and from King's College measured the "startle" response, or eye-blink reaction, of both straight and gay test subjects who were subjected to sudden bursts of loud noises. The technique is called prepulse inhibition or PPI.
The scientists, Qazi Rahman, of the University of East London, and Dr Veena Kumari and Dr Glenn Wilson of the Institute of Psychiatry, part of King's College London, claim the study is the first independent evidence of " a non-learned, neurological basis for sexual orientation."
They say that they found significant differences in the response between male and female, heterosexual and gay participants.
The reaction of the lesbian test subjects was closer to that which would be expected among straight men. And, gay men reacted closer that of women, although to a lesser extent.
To measure the 'blink' response the researchers attached electrodes on the test subjects faces just beneath their eyes. They then measured the strength of the involuntary eye-blink responses to the noises and compared them with those of a loud noise on its own.
"The startle response is pre-conscious and cannot be learned, Rahman told the Reuters news agency.
" It is mediated by an ancient region of the brain called the limbic system which also controls sexual behavior. This is very strong evidence that female sexual orientation at least may be 'hard-wired' in this region."
Rahman said the results could affect the way society dealt with sexuality and issues of sexual orientation.