Women's preference for masculine faces varies with hormonal state, sociosexuality, and relationship status, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We hypothesized that hormones and psychosexual factors (sociosexuality, sexual inhibition/excitation) mediate the perception and evaluation of male faces thereby influencing women's preferences. We used fMRI to measure brain activity in twelve women as they evaluated pictures of male faces (half 30% masculinized, half 30% feminized). Participants were heterosexual women, age 23-28, who were not in a committed relationship and not using hormonal contraception. Women were tested during both the follicular and luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. We found five brain regions related to face and risk processing that responded more to the masculinized than to the feminized faces, including the superior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex. Increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, specifically, may indicate that women perceive masculinized faces to be both more risky and more attractive. We did not see any areas that were more strongly activated by feminized faces. Levels of activation were influenced by hormonal and psychosexual factors. The patterns of hormonally and psychosexually mediated neural activation observed may offer insight into the cognitive processes underlying women's partner preferences.

中文翻译：

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女性对男性化男性面孔的神经激活：激素和性心理因素的调节。

女性对男性面孔的偏好因荷尔蒙状态、社会性别和关系状况而异，但其潜在机制尚不清楚。我们假设激素和性心理因素（社会性欲、性抑制/兴奋）调节男性面孔的感知和评价，从而影响女性的偏好。我们使用 fMRI 来测量 12 名女性在评估男性面部照片时的大脑活动（一半 30% 男性化，一半 30% 女性化）。参与者是 23-28 岁的异性恋女性，她们没有忠诚的关系，也没有使用激素避孕。女性在月经周期的卵泡期和黄体期都接受了测试。我们发现五个与面部和风险处理相关的大脑区域对男性化面孔的反应比对女性化面孔的反应更大，包括颞上回、中央前回、后扣带回皮层、顶下小叶和前扣带回皮层。具体而言，前扣带回皮层的激活增加可能表明女性认为男性化的面孔更具风险性和吸引力。我们没有看到任何被女性化面孔更强烈激活的区域。激活水平受激素和性心理因素的影响。观察到的荷尔蒙和性心理介导的神经激活模式可以深入了解女性伴侣偏好的认知过程。可能表明女性认为男性化的面孔更具风险性和吸引力。我们没有看到任何被女性化面孔更强烈激活的区域。激活水平受激素和性心理因素的影响。观察到的荷尔蒙和性心理介导的神经激活模式可以深入了解女性伴侣偏好的认知过程。可能表明女性认为男性化的面孔更具风险性和吸引力。我们没有看到任何被女性化面孔更强烈激活的区域。激活水平受激素和性心理因素的影响。观察到的荷尔蒙和性心理介导的神经激活模式可以深入了解女性伴侣偏好的认知过程。