CARNAL NATION

Live Science reports that a brain seizure has resulted in a woman mistaking herself for a man. A 37 year-old patient in Germany was admitted to a clinic in 2006 with reports of seizures, nausea, déjà-vu and the perception that she looked and sounded like a man.

She told scientists, "I have the impression to transform into a male. My voice, for example, sounds like a male voice that moment. One time, when I looked down to my arms during this episode, these looked like male arms including male hair growth."

The neuroscientists managing her case have categorized her new perception as a delusion, but report that she had no prior medical conditions or mental health issues. The seizures were caused by a tumor in the right amygdala of the brain, an area which has been linked with processing human identity and gender. Though her case is an isolated one, scientists believe it may indicate a connection between brain circuits and interpretation of gender. Anticonvulsive drugs were used to successfully relieve her symptoms including the seizures and her perception that she was a man.

The complete case findings are published in the journal Epilepsy and Behavior.