BRAIN ON SEX

How the Brain functions during an Orgasm.

Right from the moment you off your clothes, and you’re in bed with your partner turning up the heat in between the sheets, your heart is racing, blood is pumping, and muscles are tensing up.

As you and your partner strive to reach the big “O” — an orgasm — your body is filled with the intensity and tingling sensations of a promising sexual climax.

Overcome with a feeling of euphoria as a surge of blood rushes to the genitals, [what exactly happens to the brain when you have an orgasm? ] 👈 This right here is what we wanna discuss today

Before we continue,
Please watch this short video about the science of orgasm. 👇👇

GENITALS COMMUNICATE WITH THE BRAIN

During sex, our brain acts as a “pleasure center” to let us know what is enjoyable and what is not. The different nerves in the genitalia communicate with the brain about the sensation experienced. This can help explain why sensations can be perceived differently depending on what part of the body the person is being touched. 

A French study found women experience two different kinds of orgasms — clitoral and vaginal — that differ in blood flow and sensations. These orgasms also contain a different set of nerves.

The clitoris, which extends along both sides of the vulva underlying the labia minora, is erectile with arousal as it has more than 8,000 nerve endings.

For men and women, there are four types of nerves responsible for sending information to the brain during an orgasm. The hypogastric nerve transmits signals from the uterus and the cervix in women, and from the prostate in men; the pelvic nerve transmits signals from the vagina and cervix in women, and from the rectum in both sexes; the pudendal nerve transmits from the clitoris in women, and from the scrotum and penis in men; and the vagus nerve transmits from the cervix, uterus, and vagina in women.

NEUROCHEMICALS GIVE OFF THE ‘EUPHORIC’ FEELING

The “cloud nine” feeling reported by many during sex is linked to the nerves sent to the brain’s pleasure center, or reward circuit. The sexual arousals felt in the body flood the brain with a surge of neurochemicals, which are chemical messengers that forge emotions, feelings of attachment, and even love, according to Psychology Today. The level of pleasure is contingent on the release of these chemicals that can be used to measure the intensity of your climax. The areas of the brain impacted by sexual arousal include the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area (VTA), cerebellum, and the pituitary gland.

MALE AND FEMALE BRAIN SIMILAR TO BEING ON HEROIN

Although both sexes tend to engage in different behaviors during sex, the brains of men and women are not all that different. During an orgasm, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex — the brain region behind the left eye — shuts down during an orgasm. This region is considered to be the voice of reason and controls behavior. The brain of both a man and woman is said to look much like the brain of a person taking heroin during an orgasm, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

A difference between the two sexes lies in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) — the part of the brain that is activated when a woman has sex. The PAG is not activated in men when they reach an orgasm. Moreover, women will experience a decrease in the amygdala and hippocampus — which help monitor fear and anxiety — during an orgasm.

Women Can’t ‘Fake It Till They Make It’ (in an MRI)

Women are notoriously known for faking orgasms out of pity for their partners, or to convince themselves the sex is good, but an MRI scan can show the truth. In an MRI scan, the brain is able to identify whether women were actually experiencing an orgasm. When the women were asked to fake an orgasm, their brain activity increased in the cerebellum and other areas related to movement control, but this brain activity was not seen during an actual orgasm.

Overall, an orgasm is the body’s physiological response to sexual stimulation, and involves involuntary body movements and vocalizations. This has a similar effect on the brain to that of an addictive substance, such as heroin. Men and women tend to have similar brain activity during an orgasm, despite the different emotions and behaviors displayed by both genders.

Now the main lesson

By studying the brain activity of people having orgasms in these machines, scientists have learned some pretty amazing stuff.

1. The logical part of your brain basically shuts down during sex.

There’s a reason why people tend to feel bolder and less inhibited during sex – the part of your brain in charge of your logical reasoning skills temporarily goes on vacation.

“The lateral orbitofrontal cortex becomes less active during sex. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for reason, decision making, and value judgments. The deactivation of this part of the brain is also associated with decreases in fear and anxiety,”

This shutdown of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex actually makes sense, as fear and anxiety can interrupt arousal and lead to problems like performance anxiety.

2. Multiple spatially remote parts of your brain are involved in having an orgasm.

Medical imaging tests suggest there are multiple spatially remote brain regions that are involved in sexual response.

“Researchers have found that genital sensory cortex, motor areas, hypothalamus, thalamus, and substantia nigra all light up during the big O,”

The thalamus helps integrate information about touch, movement, and any sexual memories or fantasies that someone might call upon to help them reach orgasm. Meanwhile, the hypothalamus is busy producing oxytocin and may help coordinate arousal.

“Motor areas are also involved because the body is (hopefully) moving during the act, and the genital sensory cortex is registering touches to the body’s nether regions,” 

3. When you orgasm, your brain releases a surge of dopamine.

During orgasm, your brain is working overtime to produce a slew of different hormones and neurochemicals. One of these is dopamine, a hormone that is responsible for feelings of pleasure, desire, and motivation.

Dopamine is formed in a part of the brain called the ventral tegmental area and released into other parts such as the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.

“Some refer to dopamine as a ‘pleasure’ chemical – though research has shown it offers us much more than just a good time. It’s really more of a learning chemical, helping to take notice of rewards like food and sex, and figure out how to get more of them”

4. Oxytocin is released during both orgasm and breastfeeding.

Another hormone that the brain makes during orgasm is oxytocin. Secreted by the pituitary gland and released in the hypothalamus, this hormone makes us feel close to others and promotes affection.

“Oxytocin is known as the bonding hormone because it’s also released during breastfeeding and is known to facilitate a sense of love and attachment”.

Prolactin is also released during orgasm and is responsible for that feeling of satisfaction that accompanies orgasm. It’s also the main hormone responsible for milk production following pregnancy.

Of course, the release of oxytocin and prolactin during both sex and breastfeeding doesn’t mean a person experiences the same sensations in both situations.

These hormones can play different roles in our bodies and are part of the brain’s way of strengthening our social connections.

5. Having an orgasm stimulates your brain in the same way as doing drugs or listening to your favourite music.

Surprisingly, the brain doesn’t differentiate much between sex and other pleasurable experiences. The parts of your brain that make you feel good after indulging in dessert or winning at poker are the same areas that light up during orgasm.

“Sex is experienced as pleasurable and this is because the reward pathways in our brains are activated during and leading up to orgasm. These are the very same networks that are activated in response to drug use, alcohol consumption, gambling, listening to your favourite song or enjoying a delicious meal”.

6. Your brain gives off chemicals that make you less sensitive to pain during sex.

It’s not your imagination – the body really is less sensitive to pain during sex.

“As the pituitary gland is activated, the release of endorphins, oxytocin, and vasopressin promote pain reduction, intimacy, and bonding”.

This may help explain why things that might make us wince in a non-sexual situation, like smacking or hair-pulling, aren’t as painful during sex and can even be pleasurable.

7. Orgasm and pain actually activate some of the same brain areas.

The reason that some people derive sexual pleasure from experiencing pain might be related to the fact that orgasm and pain actually affect a few of the same areas of the brain.

“Several of the areas of the brain (namely, within the cortex) that are responsible for pain are active during orgasm”.

Although the relationship between pain and orgasm isn’t yet fully understood, some research has shown that vaginal stimulation might actually reduce pain sensitivity in some people.

8. After an orgasm, the brain releases hormones that can make you feel happy and sleepy.

Once an orgasm has occurred, your brain tends to slow down. But it doesn’t go off-duty entirely.

“In both men and women, the orgasm signals the parasympathetic nervous system to start down-regulating (or calming) the body. The prefrontal cortex, which was previously activated leading up to orgasm, also becomes down-regulated – and this is linked to increased levels of oxytocin to facilitate attachment”.

The brain also churns out serotonin after an orgasm. This hormone is known to promote good mood and relaxation. In some people, serotonin can also lead to drowsiness and the desire to curl up for a nap.

9. However, the brains of women tend to keep releasing oxytocin even after orgasm.

All brains experience the release of oxytocin during sex, which is a hormone responsible in part for creating feelings of closeness and bonding. However, the brains of women behave a little differently after orgasm.

“In women, oxytocin tends to continue to be released after orgasm, which may explain the motivation for post-coital cuddles”.

10. In people who are unable to feel genital stimulation, the brain might actually remap itself to allow them to reach orgasm.

Though we usually think of orgasm and sexual pleasure as being dependent on the stimulation of our genitals, that’s not entirely true. In some cases, the brain can create new pathways to pleasure that don’t involve our sexual organs at all.

“When organs are injured or removed, remapping of the senses may occur allowing us to experience sexual and orgasmic sensations in other body parts”.

In people who have suffered lower body paralysis, for example, the brain might actually rewire itself in order to allow a person to achieve orgasm through stimulation of other body parts, such as the skin of the arm or the nipples.

11. Orgasms might be nature’s way of ‘tricking’ us into reproducing.

Orgasms are undoubtedly a good time, but they also might be the brain’s sneaky way of getting us to reproduce.

“If you think about it objectively, the idea of risking your life and health to birth what’s basically a parasite living in you for nine months, which you then have to raise for the next decade, is a lot of work. Mother Nature may be ‘tricking’ us to make sure the species doesn’t die out”.

Though scientists aren’t entirely sure why we have orgasms, but a moment or two of pure euphoria effectively rewards us for having sex. It reinforces this behaviour and keeps us coming back for more.

12. Having an orgasm might actually help keep your brain healthy.

Along with enticing us to reproduce, orgasming might also help keep our brains healthy.

“It may also be that, evolutionarily speaking, since this activity increases blood flow across the brain so dramatically, it may have developed in part to help keep the brain healthy, too”.

Research has also suggested that female orgasm may have once played a role in stimulating ovulation, though now ovulation occurs spontaneously and doesn’t depend on sexual activity.

Thank you for reading.

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