Comparing the structure and function of social-cognition-related brain areas in bisexual, heterosexual, and homosexual women and men
A small number of studies have examined neuroanatomical differences between heterosexual and homosexual men and women. These studies have yielded mixed support for the hypothesis that homosexual individuals possess sex-atypical neural anatomy. However, in addition to differing along dimensions of sex-typicality, non-heterosexual individuals’ brains may be different in other ways, potentially as a result of differences in experience. One way in which sexual minorities may differ from others is in their social experiences. Bisexual individuals in particular may occupy unique social niches and experience complex social environments as a result of sexual and romantic interactions with both men and women, and potentially also in terms of having a less-widely-recognized sexual identity than heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Based on this idea, we hypothesized that bisexual individuals may show increased gray matter volume and activity in two social-cognition-related areas of the brain: the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). Contrary to our hypotheses, neither brain structure nor brain activity in the rTPJ and dmPFC were significantly greater in bisexual individuals than in heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Instead, we found larger rTPJ volumes in heterosexual women than in homosexual women. We also found larger relative volumes in the dmPFC in women than in men, consistent with a recent large-scale study of sex differences, and potentially indicative of sex and gender differences in social cognition.