Gay men’s bilateral brains better at remembering faces: York U study

[FreeState]

http://scienceblog.com/35610/gay-mens-bilateral-brains-better-at-remembering-faces-york-u-study/

TORONTO, June 22, 2010 — Gay men can recall familiar faces faster and more accurately than their heterosexual counterparts because, like women, they use both sides of their brains, according to a new study by York University researchers.

The study, published in the journal, Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, examined the influence of gender, sexual orientation and whether we’re right-or-left-handed on our ability to recognize faces. It found that when memorizing and discriminating between faces, homosexual men show patterns of bilaterality — the usage of both sides of the brain — similar to heterosexual women. Heterosexual men tend to favour the right hemisphere for such tasks.

“Our results suggest that both gay men and heterosexual women code faces bilaterally. That allows for faster retrieval of stored information,” says study lead author Jennifer Steeves, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health.

Study participants were asked to memorize photographs of ten faces, and differentiate them from 50 others, shown to them for only milliseconds each. The images were rendered in black and white and edited to remove ears, hair and blemishes, which can serve as obvious identifying cues. Participants then had to relay which faces were new, as quickly and accurately as possible.

[foxfeet]

1. I never forget a face;

now, if I could remember names the same way, my life would be easier!

[xchrom]

2. it's not their names i need to remember...nt

[HillWilliam]

9. It is if you're supposed to know what to yell in the dark

:rofl:

[FreeState]

5. Same here... Im awful at names... but a face I rarely forget n/t

[GodlessBiker]

10. I never forget a ... well ... maybe I shouldn't say.

[foxfeet]

12. Believe me, they're every bit as memorable as faces.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. Yup, that confirms it: I'm straight. -nt

[SunnySong]

4. Thats because they are not staring at tits...

:hide:

[davidinalameda]

6. you're right

I won't say what I generally stare at because I don't want my post pulled

:bounce:

[SunnySong]

7. Smile

:toast:

[GodlessBiker]

11. That's very funny.

[applegrove]

8. I don't have a memory for faces or names. But I'm empathetic and I like systems. So I use both sides

of my brain.

[Divine Discontent]

13. well isn't that something - and I am the friend that is always pointing out how so & so on TV or in

person looks like so & so, and whoever I'm with typically says, "oh my gosh! you're right!"