This article was in the 31 Jan issue of Science (p 539), reprinted
without permission and all that.  I'm probably responsible for
the typos.
 
This is just the latest in a number of research results
about gay men in the last few months.  Some of this article
is particulary interesting since it seems to explain why
we are all so artistic (?). 

------ Homosexuality and Cognition ------
 
The hypothesis that there is a neurobiological basis for sexual
orientation has received substantial attention recently -- examples
being the anatomical difference found in the brains of some male
homoseuals ; new evidence of a strong genetic role in homsexuality,
and the association found between homosexuality and left-handedness.
Now the hypothesis  has gotten a boost from yet another direction -
research bearing on sex differences in cognitive abilities. 
 
Scientists at McMaster University in Ontario report in the latest
issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology [whew!] that on measures of visual
spatial ability where consistent differences have been observed
between males and females, male homsexuals fall between the two  
sexes.
"It is as if, in some cognitive respects, they are neurologically a
third sex," says neuroscientist Sandra Witelson, who co-authored the
paper with psychologist Cheryl M McCormick (now at McGill  
University).
 
The researchers administered three tests of spatial ability (where
males excel) and two measuring verbal fluency (where felales show a
small advantage) to three groups of 38 subjects each:  homosexual  
men,
heterosexual men, and heterosexual women, "The cognitive pattern of
homosexual men was significantly different from heterosexual men but
not significantly different from that of heterosexual women," says
Witerson.  The results - like those from other studies on
homosexuality - are consistent with the hypothesis that homosexuals
are exposed to atypical levels of prenatal sex hormones.  
 
In the spatial tests, heterosexual males had the highest scores,
followed by homosexual males, and then females.  This pattern was
particularly pronoun ced among right-handers in a test where subjects
had to visualize the water level in a tilted glass.  In a measure of
verbal fluence the order was reversed: Women scored highest, followed
by the homosexuals, and then the heterosexual men.
 
Witelson believes that evidence fom anatomical, genetic, hormonal,  
and
neuropsychological research is converging to suggest that "sexual
orientation... is part of a larger constellation of cognitive
attributes."  She adds that all this may lead to an explanation for
the "apparently greater prevalence and ability of homosexual men
compared to heterosexual men in some professions." But the
bewilderingly complex relationships between brain anatomy, prenatal
sex hormones, handedness and homosexuality still need a lot more
sorting out.



--
jefu <=> Jeff Putnam - New Mexico Tech <=> jefu@nmt.edu