[Transsexualism: a Brain Disorder that Begins to Known]

Area of Science:

• Neurobiology
• Medical Ethics
• Psychology

Background:

• Transsexualism, or gender identity disorder, is characterized by persistent incongruence between psychological gender and biological sex.
• Individuals often seek hormonal and surgical sex reassignment to align their anatomical sex with their gender identity.
• Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings is crucial for addressing the associated psychosocial distress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the structural and functional neurobiological correlates of transsexualism.
• To examine how these neurobiological aspects change during cross-sex hormonal administration.
• To discuss the ethical implications from a medical perspective.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing studies on neurobiological correlations in transsexualism.
• Analysis of research on functional connectivity in brain regions.
• Examination of studies investigating sexually dimorphic brain structures and processes.

Main Results:

• Increased functional connectivity in cortical regions is observed, correlating with psychosocial distress.
• Brain alterations suggest a mechanism dissociating bodily emotions from body image representation.
• Sexually dimorphic brain structures show signs of feminization or masculinization, potentially shifting towards the affirmed gender during hormone therapy.

Conclusions:

• Hormonal administration may reduce psychosocial distress by partially aligning brain characteristics with the desired gender.
• Gender affirmation models do not resolve the underlying brain disorders, posing a significant medical ethics issue.
• Further neurobiological research is medically necessary to define transsexualism, guide treatment, and inform legal actions.