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Gender Studies in MINT
 

Seminar "Weibliches vs. männliches Gehirn?: Wie die Neurowissenschaft Geschlecht untersucht"
Seminar "Female vs. Male Brain?: How Neuroscience Approaches Sex/Gender"
Wintersemester 2018/2019
Anelis Kaiser

 


Veranstaltungsort:

Technische Fakultät, Gebäude 101-01-016


Uhrzeit:

Dienstag 12:00 - 14:00

Aktuelles:

Startdatum: 16.10.2018
Enddatum: 05.02.2019


Lernziel

Die Studierenden lernen, wie Geschlecht in der Neurowissenschaft im Experiment operationalisiert wird; sie analysieren die verschiedenen Aspekte von Geschlecht, die im neurowissenschaftlichen Lab implementiert werden. Die Studierenden entwickeln ein neurowissenschaftliches Verständnis dafür, was eine "Geschlechterdifferenz" im Gehirn ist und lernen einen kritischen Umgang mit dieser Herangehensweise. Ausserdem eignen sich Studentinnen und Studenten Wissen über grundlegende Methoden der Neurowissenschaft an.

Students learn about the experimental operationalisation of sex/gender in neuroscience; they analyze the different aspects of sex/gender implemented in the neuroscientific lab. The students develop a neuroscientific understanding of what a "sex/gender difference" in the brain is and learn to critically deal with it. Additionally, the students will be provided with knowledge about basic methods from neuroscience.


Lehrinhalt

Diese Veranstaltung ist eine Einführung in das Thema Geschlecht in der Hirnforschung. Als solche untersucht sie die Frage, ob es ein "weibliches" versus "männliches" Gehirn und ob es "den Unterschied" zwischen Frauen- und Männergehirnen gibt. Ausgehend von Originalarbeiten aus der Neurowissenschaft und von populärwissenschaftlichen Publikationen sowie ausgehend von Analysen der Methoden werden verschiedene Fragen berücksichtigt werden, wie beispielsweise "Wie wird Geschlecht im Gehirn gemessen?", "Was ist die Rolle von Hormonen in der neurowissenschaftlichen Geschlechterforschung?", "Wie sieht die Forschung zu Homosexualität oder Transgender in der Hirnforschung aus?", "Wie wird Ethnizität im Kontext der von Geschlecht in der Hirnforschung untersucht?", oder "Welche ethischen oder sozialen Fragen ergeben sich aus der neurowissenschaftlichen Forschung zu Geschlecht?" Neben der Diskussion solcher Fragen werden die Studierenden methodische Herangehensweisen der Hirnforschung, hauptsächlich aus der fMRI-Forschung, kennen lernen.

This course is an introduction to the topic of sex/gender in brain science. As such it investigates the question of whether there is a “female” versus “male” brain and whether “the difference” between women's and men’s brains exist or not. By reading original publications from neuroscience and its related disciplines, understanding metodological approaches from neuroscience, and examining popular science’s reports on the subject, we will consider a wide range of questions, including: "How is sex/gender measured in brain science?", "What is the role of hormones in neuroscientific sex/gender research?", "How does research on homosexuality or transgenderism look in brain science?", "How is ethnicity investigated in the context of the sexed brain?" or "And what kind of ethical and social issues are drawn from neuroscientific sex/gender research?" Apart from discussing these questions students will learn about methodological approaches in brain science, particularly those related to fMRI.


Lehrmaterial (passwortgeschützt)


Datum Titel
16.10. Organisation. Briefing, Presentation of the concept.
23.10. The Construction of Sex/Gender in the Brain.
Fausto-Sterling, Anne (2000). Sexing the Body. Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books. S. 115-145 (“Sexing the Brain”).
Schmitz, Sigrid (2002): Hirnforschung und Geschlecht: Eine kritische Analyse im Rahmen der Genderforschung in den Naturwissenschaften In: Bauer, Ingrid/Neissl, Julia (Hg.) Gender Studies - Denkachsen und Perspektiven der Geschlechterforschung. Innsbruck-Wien-München: StudienVerlag, pp.109-125.
30.10. Excercise: How does Neuroscience Address the Question of Sex/Gender? Pub-Med Search.
06.11. Sex/Gender Differences in the Brain (A): Are there Alternative Approaches (B)?
(A) Cahill, L., (2006). Why sex matters for neuroscience. Nat. Rev., Neurosci. 7, 447–484.
(B) Roy, D. (2012). Neuroethics, Gender and the Response to Difference, Neuroethics, forthcoming.
(B) Joel D. (2011). Male or Female? Brains are Intersex. Front Integr Neurosci. 2011;5:57.
13.11. The Human Brain Mosaic
Joel D, Berman Z, Tavor I, Wexler N, Gaber O, Stein Y, Shefi N, Pool J, Urchs S, Margulies DS, Liem F. (2015). Sex beyond the genitalia: the human brain mosaic. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112(50):15468-15473.
Joel D, Fausto-Sterling A. (2016). Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 371(1688):20150451.
Joel D, McCarthy MM. (2016). Incorporating sex as a biological variable in neuropsychiatric research: where are we now and where should we be? Neuropsychopharmacology 42(2):379-385.
20.11. Original Studies: Sex/Gender Differences
Sethna et al. (2017). Mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in infancy: an MRI study. Brain Struct Funct 222: 2379–2388.
Sollmann N, et al. (2017). Sex differences in white matter alterations following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in collegiate ice hockey players. Neuroimage Clin. 17: 642-649.
Kurth F, Jancke, L, Luders E. (2017). Sexual dimorphism of Broca's region: More gray matter in female brains in Brodmann areas 44 and 45. J Neurosci Res. 2017 Jan 2. 1-2. Jordan, K., Wüstenberg, T., Heinze, H., Peters, M., Jäncke, L. (2002). Women and men exhibit different cortical activation patterns during mental rotation tasks. Neuropsychology 40, 2397–2408.
Kaiser, A., Kuenzli, E., Zappatore, D., Nitsch, D. (2007). On females' lateral and males' bilateral activation during language production: A fMRI study. Int. J. of Psychophysiol. 63, 192-198.
Gur, R., Gunning-Dixon, F., Bilker, W., Gur, R. (2002). Sex differences in temporo-limbic and frontal brain volumes of healthy adults. Cereb. Cortex 12, 998–1003.
Phillips, M., Lowe, M., Lurito, J., Dzemidzic, M., Mathews, V., 2001. Temporal lobe activation demonstrates sex-based differences during passive listening. Radiology 220, 202–207.
Lüders, E., Narr, K.L., Thompson, P.M., et al. (2004). Gender differences in cortical complexity. Nat. Neurosci. 7 (8), 799–800.
27.11. Sexuality Studies
Kaiser, A., & Schmitz, S. (2016). Neuroscience, Brain Research, and Sexuality. In N. Naples (Ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies, IV (pp. 1759-1765). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Xue, F. (2018). The role of the dorsal anterior insula in sexual risk: Evidence from an erotic Go/NoGo task and real-world risk-taking. Hum Brain Mapp. 2018;1–8.
Burke, M., Manzouri, Savic (2017). Structural connections in the brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Sci Rep. 7(1):17954.
Savic, I., Lindstrom, P., (2008). PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(27): 9403-8.
Pletzer, B. et al. (2010). Menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use modulate human brain structure. Brain Res., 1348: 55-62.
04.12. Original Sztudies: Sexual Identity
Spies M., et al. (2016). Gender transition affects neural correlates of empathy: A resting state functional connectivity study with ultra high-field 7T MR imaging. Neuroimage. 2016 Sep;138:257-65.
Smith et al. (2015). The transsexual brain--A review of findings on the neural basis of transsexualism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 59: 251-66.
Carrillo, B., (2010). Cortical activation during mental rotation in male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals under hormonal treatment. Psychoneuroendocrinology 35, 1213—1222.
11.12. Original Studies: Gender Stereotype Threat
Wraga, Maryjane, Molly Helt, Emily Jacobs, and Kerry Sullivan (2007). Neural Basis of Stereotype-Induced Shifts in Women’s Mental Rotation Performance. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 2.1: 12–19.
Knutson, Kristine M., Linda Mah, Charlotte F. Manly, and Jordan Grafman. 2007. “Neural Correlates of Automatic Beliefs about Gender and Race.” Human Brain Mapping 28 (10):915–30.
Krendl, Anne C, Jennifer a Richeson, William M Kelley, and Todd F Heatherton. 2008. “The Negative Consequences of Threat.” Psychological Science 19 (2): 168–75.
18.12. Original Studies: Sex in the Brain
Hansen N. et al. (2017). Neural Correlates of Risky Sex and Response Inhibition in High-Risk Adolescents. J Res Adolesc. 28(1):56-69.
Holstege, G., /Georgiadis, J.R. et al. (2003). Brain activation during human male ejaculation. J Neurosci 23(27): 9185-93.
Hamann, S., Herman, R., Nolan, C., Wallen, K. (2004). Men and women differ in amygdala response to visual sexual stimuli. Nat Neurosci. 7(4), 411-416.
Karama, S., Lecours, A., Leroux, J., Bourgouin, P., Beaudoin, G., Joubert, S., Beauregard, M., (2002). Areas of brain activation in males and females during viewing of erotic film excerpts. Hum Brain Mapp. 16(1), 1-13.
08.01. Popular Science of the Brain: Film ”Does my Brain Have a Sex?“ 2010, Directed and written by Laure Delesalle, 52 minutes.
15.01. Sex/Gender in Neurobiological Animal Studies (Classes by Dr. Mercedes Küffner).
Will, Tyler R. and Proaño, Stephanie B. and Thomas, Anly M. and Kunz, Lindsey M. and Thompson, Kelly C. and Ginnari, Laura A. and Jones, Clay H. and Lucas, Sarah-Catherine and Reavis, Elizabeth M. and Dorris, David M. and Meitzen, John (2017). Problems and Progress regarding Sex Bias and Omission in Neuroscience Research. ENEURO.0278-17.2017.
Beery, A.K. (2018). Inclusion of females does not increase variability in rodent research studies. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 2018, 23:143–149.
Beery, A.K. & Zucker, I. (2011). Sex bias in neuroscience and biomedical research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews Volume 35, Issue 3, January 2011, Pages 565-572.
Flórez-Vargas, Oscar and Brass, Andy and Karystianis, George and Bramhall, Michael and Stevens, Robert and Cruickshank, Sheena and Nenadic, Goran, (2016). Research: Bias in the reporting of sex and age in biomedical research on mouse models. eLife 2016;5:e13615.
22.01. Excercise: Popular Scientific Texts (Gehirn & Geist, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, The Scientist...)
29.01. Free Choice
05.02. Discussion
Rippon, G., Jordan-Young, R., Kaiser, A., & Fine, C. (2014). Recommendations for sex/gender neuroimaging research: Key principles and implications for research design, analysis and interpretation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 650.
Fine, C., Jordan-Young, B., Kaiser, A., & Rippon, G. (2013). Plasticity, plasticity, plasticity … and the rigid problem of sex. Trends in Cognitive Science, 17, 550-551.
Kaiser, A., & Dussauge, I. (2015). Feminist and Queer Repoliticizations of the Brain. EspacesTemps.net, Travaux.
Prager, E. (Ed.). (2017) An Issue Whose Time Has Come: Sex/Gender Influences on Nervous System Function. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 95,  Issue 1-2: 1-791.
Kaiser, A. (2016). Sex/Gender Matters and Sex/Gender Materialities in the Brain. In V. Pitts-Taylor (Ed.), Mattering: Feminism, Science and Materialism (pp. 122- 139). New York: NYU Press.
Einstein, G. (2007). Sex and the Brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Kaiser, A., Haller, S., Schmitz, S., Nitsch, C. (2009). On sex/gender related similarities and differences in fMRI language research. Brain Research Reviews 61(2):49-59.
Sommer, I., Aleman, A., Bouma, A., Kahn, R. (2004). Do women really have more bilateral language representation than men? A meta-analysis of functional imaging studies. Brain 127, 1845–1852.
Wallentin, M. (2009). Putative sex differences in verbal abilities and language cortex: a critical review. Brain Lang. 108, 175–183.
Vidal, C. (2005). Brain, sex and ideology. Diogenes 52, 127–133.