Molecular Scaffold Guides Connections Between Brain Cells

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Wed, 28 May 2008 16:49:47 +0100

I must agree with Lisa, Sharon and Pamela. It is fact that the brain sex is formed before the actual physical sex is it not? That being the case then how would any rewiring/correction of the brain be possible to match the body when the brain gender has already been established? I think I also see where Kelly is leading though. I assume she is stating that if there was a means of connecting the dots before or immediately after the fetal wash and be able to examine for faults in that process then perhaps a correction to established criteria of a normal sex to body brain would be able to then be corrected. I must admit to not knowing how we might establish normal brain or what exactly is a normal brain so I will just allow my imagination run wild thinking of the variables. I might see where in the event of a child born with autism or a child's brain misfiring that some effort might be welcome in correcting the brain but in the case of HBS born I doubt that any researcher or clinician might foresee the actual brain as being a mistake by not being in conformity with a physical sex not yet determined. I am totally against any eugenic application for if accepted it most assuredly will lead to the presumption that a perfect human being is the next venture over the horizon. Think that path already traveled gave us an indication of where that might lead...to disaster. Diane - Diane Kearny

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Sun, 25 May 2008 15:08:07 +0100

Given the general lack of knowledge about the inner workings of the brain and how intelligence, and thought processes all link I think someone attempting to mess about in the brain of an unborn child would be like an enraged bull in a china shop with very small crowded aisles. There is always some Doctor that wants to or would want to play "GOD" with about as much grace and knowledge as the old barber doctors that thought bleeding the patient dry would "cure" everything-- mmm, guess it did, bleed them enough and they died and that cured everything-- permanently -- No thank you, I'll take having grown up HBS only regretting the lack of information when I was younger, but happy with the "cure" worked by Dr S. in Thailand 4 1/2 years ago. Pamela - Pamela

A couple of observations

Sun, 25 May 2008 13:48:33 +0100

This discussion raises some interesting points. I'd like to take up three of them. 1. The Science Of Us. Over time, we have seen work on the gradual (and arduous) unfolding of the entire end-to-end process that starts with the pre-conditions for conception and ultimately results in, well, us. The article under discussion, Molecular Scaffold Guides Connections Between Brain Cells, is a very important contribution to the foundation science that illuminates human development. We have several such articles that address, in one way or another, the "scaffold" subject [URL]http://ts-si.org/component/option,com_ijoomla_archive/Itemid,1115/[/URL] The subject fits into - and extends - what we also know to be factually correct: we humans are by default female, with male anatomy as an important but complex exception. For all humans the neurocord forms first, developing into the brain, spinal column - the central nervous system. Conventional wisdom has it that women like many of our readers - including me - can be explained by the unexpected release of testosterone at a crucial point during pregnancy. Likewise, the reverse for F2Ms. But all that begs the question. What are the events prior to the testosterone wash that made it possible in the first place. We know now that the brain is a complex and wondrous thing, literally teeming with construction and operational activities. Resources are acquired, production lines formed, and elegant molcular machines fired up to produce the end result. We also know that manufacturing and/or operational errors do occur. The brain has marvelous mechanisms for both Quality Assurance (QA), Quality Control (QC), and error correction. Even so, we have observed that the materials and processing can vary from the expected specifications, leading to alternative versions of us. Either the specs are flawed or the execution is imperfect. Whatever, the basic plan can be munged; if so, no amount of perfectible execution can yield a wholly acceptable result. Most such results - such as bad teeth or stringy hair - are accepted, figuring the next release (our grandkids) may do better since they will benefit from a widened gene pool. Some results, like cleft palate and HBS do not have to wait. Medical treatments, including medicines and surgery, can ameliorate the birth condition. 2. The Wonder Of Us. Consider what would happen if any manufacturing anomalies could be eliminated at the start. -- If one believes the external anatomy is suzerain, then women like us would be born male in mind and body (translate for F2Ms). -- Alternatively, the pre-conditions would be different and we would be born female in mind and body. Based on the evidence, and barring further advances in knowledge, I support the second scenario. Of course, if we had a sure-fire way to ensure the integrity of our all-too-human development process, we wouldn't even be aware that an erroneous us inhabits an alternate reality somewhere. We wouldn't know the difference. But how can we arrive at that day without the enormous ependiture of resources and offering a temptation to Eugenicists of all stripes to intervene and satisfy theor own bias toward human perfectibility. For more on this, see Will Genetics Research And Eugenics Doom The HBS-born? at [URL]http://ts-si.org/content/view/3138/995/[/URL] I favor caution lest the genie that emerges from the bottle be another of our favorite purifiers, like Amin, Hitler, Hussein, MiloÅ¡eviÄ‡, Pol Pot, Stalin, and an endless line of like-minded butchers. 3. I Wonder, What Do We Fix. Obviously, I think we should fix the fixable, our malleable body. Maybe we could alter the pre-natal environment? If so, Eugenmics raises its ugly head again. I maintain we should address the misalignment directly and take definitive action. However, I do understand very well what Kelly had to say about the frustration she noted in the comments of her former consultant. If only, if only, behavioral science was enough or we could - like psychiatrists do with schizoids - medicate the "problem" to reduce the "threat", but we can't. It seems to me we sometimes interpret concern and frustration with dismissal. Not good. We need all the receptive minds we can find to bring care to those who need it most. Anyway, that is all for know. Perhaps some of you have further comment? Sharon - Sharon S. Gaughan

OK, a little more clarification

Sat, 24 May 2008 23:08:09 +0100

Alright, let me try again. How in the world did this get so off target? My original observation was envisioning the wonderful possibilities of this newly developing area of brain science. Male bias aside, this new research finding opens the door to an entire new vista in brain science pertaining to structure and function. This is the very environment in which HBS presumes itself to reside. Taken for granted that all the available research evidence regarding HBS to date is true, what might this new technology promise for the future of HBS? What if it came to pass that there were prenatal tests that definitively showed a female brain in a male body? And further, what if it were possible to 're-wire' a brain (technique or mechanism as yet unknown) to fit the existing body with minimal intervention before birth? Given this simple scenario as true, would it signal the end of HBS? Question: which is preferable, a life of normalcy - one in which brain and body co-exist in peace - or the HBS-born life you know? How do you think a non-HBS person might answer that question? This was the gist of the message that Dr. Pauly (a non-HBS person) was making. If it was male bias, then fine...it was male bias. But I see it differently, I see it as the visionary thinking of someone, in this case a man, who was looking to the day when brains could be altered - not through psychotherapy but through medical intervention - to prevent HBS. The only bias I could discern was a bias toward a desire to help people lead normal lives without pain and suffering. But getting beyond the whole 'male bias' digression, can we agree that this is a remarkable new development in brain science? We are only now taking the necessary baby steps in learning to walk; think what the science may mature into! [quote]â€œThere is good evidence that these disorders involve miswiring of the nervous system,â€ Dr. Huang says, which may reflect a problem with immunoglobulin-guided synapse formation. [/quote] If we understood why or how this 'miswiring' takes place, might we some day be able to preempt it from happening, or recognize that it [i]is[/i] happening and take remedial measures to correct it? The premise of my original comment pertains to this very concept. I don't see how 'male bias' figures into this at all. - Kelly

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Sat, 24 May 2008 20:14:16 +0100

[quote] it was about being able to prevent or preempt the brain from developing in conflict with the body so we wouldn't have to suffer with our dilemma.[/quote] As pointed out before, this shows the male bias as the brain develops first, better would be to prevent the body from developing as a male so that IT matches the brain not vice versa. - Pamela

A bit of clarification may be in order

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:07:51 +0100

Lisa, In general, as you stated, you're probably right but honestly I don't keep up with the current state of treatments or what may be a common theme amongst male psychiatrists. My diagnosis took place in 1977 in what I presume were significantly different circumstances from those that exist today. However, since it was an earlier time, there was almost certainly a prevailing 'good ol' boys club' mentality at work to a large degree. I can't speak for Dr. Pauly's motivations, only my perception of him as a treatment specialist. Dr. Pauly's statement (that I paraphrased) was made several years after my SRS, long after he and I had parted company. On a vacation trip through Reno I spontaneously looked him up at the University of Nevada, Reno where he was then head of the Dept. of Behavioral Sciences (or whatever it was called, something like that). Unexpectedly he had time to see me and after the initial pleasantries and updates our conversation turned to his current studies which by then had departed from the transsexual realm. In a moment of reflection he recounted his exasperation of a world in which transsexualism even existed. His statement was rendered not from the bias or comfort zone of his profession, rather it carried the weight of impotence and frustration. He sympathized with our plight and felt that we suffered too much. He fully understood how little the sciences knew about the condition, its cause(s) or its long-term effects. His heartfelt hope was that someday we would discover some preventative means rather than a curative approach, thus not having patients in the first place. That's the position from which he made his statement; it was about being able to prevent or preempt the brain from developing in conflict with the body so we wouldn't have to suffer with our dilemma. He was quite a thoughtful and respectful diagnostician...at least that was my experience. I got the impression he was a visionary rather than a good ol' boy, a rare breed. Maybe I just got lucky. In any event, I just wanted to clarify that I don't believe that Dr. Pauly was speaking from a position of job security but rather as an observer with a hope for a brighter future. Remember, this was 3 decades ago. We've learned much since then. Presumably so has he. - Kelly

The Bias of Psychiatrists

Sat, 24 May 2008 14:47:44 +0100

[i]"Dr. Ira Pauly, my HBS diagnosing psychiatrist, has stated that he would rather there were some method of aligning the brain to the body than the now conventional method of body to brain."[/i] Psychiatrists, and doctors in general, are almost always prefer to treat something they are comfortable with. In the case of Psychiatrists, that is the mind, whether or not treatment of the mind (normally through sessions and medications) is the best solution for the patient's good. [b]Male[/b] psychiatrist, on a whole, are [i]very[/i]uneasy with the idea that anyone wouldn't want a perfectly good penis. From their viewpoint, one unsupported by science, keeping a penis is the only logical viewpoint -- from the viewpoint of those born [b]male[/b]. The [b]brain[/b] came first, it is the body that is nature's mistake. HBS is a physical birth condition, not a psychological psychiatric one. Sex reassignment surgery is efficacious. The mind control and psychological manipulation favored by many Psychiatrists is a result of their personal training and beliefs, not the result of rigorous scientific research. Physciatrists are personally invested in the current therapeutical solution and many would prefer they remain at the top of the pecking order rather than have some mere knife cutter resolve the patient's situation. - Lisa Thompson

Of neurons, axions, dendrites, synapses, and science...

Sat, 24 May 2008 12:40:22 +0100

What a fantastic article! Two thoughts come immediately to mind: 1. How might this discovery, and its (presumed) subsequent development and maturity, affect HBS? It has been advanced that the hormonal wash during the third trimester of gestation affects the 'hardwiring' of the brain. If this is so, how might future glial therapy(ies) be able to reverse or help HBS affected individuals. Dr. Ira Pauly, my HBS diagnosing psychiatrist, has stated that he would rather there were some method of aligning the brain to the body than the now conventional method of body to brain. Might this new discovery signal a means to that end? Obviously there remains much more research work in this area before there are any indications that this route is even feasible. 2. Recovery options for stroke victims. We now know it is possible to re-route the brain's neuronal network affecting some body functions. Certain stroke victims are more able to recover, in differing degrees, to regain lost function. Could this be a breakthrough in knowing the 'how' this works? And could it lead to a more capable therapy for stroke victims too? That there is promise for autism, through understanding the mechanisms that may cause it and therefore remediating the damage through effective treatments, is truly amazing...what a wonderful promise this holds. Obviously this research is in its infancy and much remains to be done, but the possible beneficial effects to brain 'hardwiring' conditions - to my way of thinking - is staggering in its implications! Thank you TS-Si for bringing this almost obscure finding to our attention. - Kelly