Alleya, and or shiro, i need help with science!

[Kuya]

I am looking for scientific articles that show behavior or social forces cause changes in brain cells or the way brain cells are organized. For example, i once saw a reference to an article mentioning that a study was done on the brains of transsexuals before they changed their gender and after, and it was found that before, they had brain structure that was more male, but after years of living as a different gender, brain structure was more female. I was never able to find this article, and nor does a single article on this sort of phenomenon sound convincing.

So essentially, i need articles that show that voluntary behavior on the part of an individual can lead to neurobiological changes in themselves. A perfect example of this is how an individual may chose to train their left hand, when they are right handed, and cause their brain to rewire in such a way as to accommodate growing dexterity with the left hand. I need more examples of that, preferably with things that people tend to think of as unchangeable.

[Shiroikage]

I'll see if I can do a literature search or something.

[Kuya]

Thank you shirwa

[Shiroikage]

This might be a good starting point for further searches because it's likely to be cited/cite relevant papers:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/85/5/2034.short

I'll keep looking for something more specific though.

[Shiroikage]

Trouble is that you really are looking for a very specific study.
It's also not easy research to control, either.

[Kuya]

Yea, i like my science hardcore

[Shiroikage]

I'm only glancing at abstracts btw:
http://www.mendeley.com/research/neu...rmone-therapy/

[Kuya]

Oh by the way, i'm not exclusively requesting research relating to transsexuals, just that the particular research i mentioned in the OP was an example of what i meant in terms of conduct creating a sort of feed back effect on the brain itself.

[Shiroikage]

Oh by the way, i'm not exclusively requesting research relating to transsexuals, just that the particular research i mentioned in the OP was an example of what i meant in terms of conduct creating a sort of feed back effect on the brain itself.

Oh, ok, I see. I should be able to find plenty of stuff on that.
If you use the example of training your left hand, I'm assuming you wouldn't mind articles pertaining to neurobiological adapations in response to some sort of skill? It'd shock me if no one's done some sort of neuroimaging or something with musicians before.

[Blarg]

why do you need science articles? All my beliefs are based upon things I've made up so just imagine you read an article that said all that stuff and then tell people about it as fact

[Shiroikage]

Seems like a pretty solid review of what I just said: http://www.sciandmed.com/mppa/journa...=3&search=true

I totally do not have access, maybe I'll have to try going in through my uni's VPN.

[Shiroikage]

Haha, wow, doing a literature search for tons of articles that i will never read. Well, I'll glance over interesting ones.

Feels like grad school.

[Blarg]

why do you need science articles? All my beliefs are based upon things I've made up so just imagine you read an article that said all that stuff and then tell people about it as fact

In fact the 2003 article by Mitchell et al proved this was the "best way to believe the bestest things"

[Shiroikage]

I am truly shocked that I have access to that article, lol.

[Shiroikage]

This seems like it might be relevant/cite/be cited by something relevant: http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/con...5/8/1089.short

[Shiroikage]

First sentence of the abstract says exactly what I was thinking: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...9.04852.x/full

I'll try focusing on something else. Your transexual example is going to be hard to find good research on. It's almost always going to be in comparison to heteronormative individuals, or pre-/post-hormonal changes.

[Shiroikage]

Which is a shame, really.

[Kuya]

Oh, ok, I see. I should be able to find plenty of stuff on that.
If you use the example of training your left hand, I'm assuming you wouldn't mind articles pertaining to neurobiological adapations in response to some sort of skill? It'd shock me if no one's done some sort of neuroimaging or something with musicians before.

Yes, skill development and neurobiological adaption would be useful.

[Shiroikage]

It's really impossible to do research on simple behavioural changes that don't require specific training because no one is going to ever believe your results.

[Kuya]

Btw, if you don't see me respond to this thread, it's because i'm working on an essay on transcranial magnetic stimulation, but while searching that it occurred to me that i really want info on neurobiological adaption in relation to the subject's own behavior, so i decided to ask for you guys to help me out searching for that while i work on TMS.