[hellinahandcart]

Thre is evidence schizophrenia has a physical cause. Depression also has a physical cause.

I have never heard anyone claim that depression is predetermined at birth. Until now. ;D

Estrogens and androgen blocking drugs have been administered to adult men in the treatment of prostate cancer, and they do not produce changes in the brain structure.

How do you KNOW they don't affect something at some level, if you're not slicing opens the brains of all such men? The hormones do cause dramatic physical and behavioral changes. I knew a guy who had a pituitary adenoma; the before and after were all pretty radical.

The structure of the brain is complete at birth, since all the neurons a person has are there at birth.

Things like drug use and Alzheimer's change the brain AFTER birth, do they not? Malnutrition can prevent the brain from developing as it should, can it not?

If it is a birth defect, are we to abort the fetus's on the grounds they will have a gender identity problem? Or tell the individuals they are crazy, and wait for them to commit suicide?

Is that how you'd proceed with schizophrenia? Or would you ideally try to correct the problem?

My point is that we don't develop a schizophrenia-based "culture", affirm it as a lifdstyle choice, or pass legislation insisting we all go along with their delusions. Which is happening rapidly in the case of transgenders.

[punster]

"I have never heard anyone claim that depression is predetermined at birth."

It probably has a genetic cause. That had to of occurred before birth.

"How do you KNOW they don't affect something at some level, if you're not slicing opens the brains of all such men?"

Some men, who had been treated for prostate cancer with those drugs, were also autopsied and their brain structure examined. The did not show those changes in their brain.

"Things like drug use and Alzheimer's change the brain AFTER birth, do they not? Malnutrition can prevent the brain from developing as it should, can it not?"

Pregnant lab rats were administered cyproterone acetate, during a specific period of gestatgion, the end result was the male (XY) offspring exhibited a reversed mating behavior. They exhibited female sexual behavior. The same experiment could be performed on other species of animals, including primates such as chimpanzees, rhesus monkeys, or other species. It the results are duplicated, then it is also likely the same effect would apply to humans. Of course, to satisfy your objection, animals would have to be sacrificed for autopsy and brain examination at different points in their lives (after birth, pre-puberty and adulthood).

"Is that how you'd proceed with schizophrenia? Or would you ideally try to correct the problem?"

I never advocated abortion as a means of dealing with transgenders or schizophrenia. It was a rhetorical question. Schizophrenia can be controlled, though not cured. However, gender identity problems do not respond to conventional psychotherapy. The only thing that has worked is to put the individuals on appropriate hormone therapy (in accordance with how they see themselves), and then give them supportive therapy. The medical profession does not see the condition as 'curable' (meaning the cross gender identification can be eliminated.