Science of the orgasm

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By Regina Nuzzo, Special to The Times

AS they seek to document and demystify one of life's great thrills, scientists have run across some real head-scratchers.

How, for example, can they explain the fact that some men and women who are paralyzed and numb below the waist are able to have orgasms?

How to explain the "orgasmic auras" that can descend at the onset of epileptic seizures -- sensations so pleasurable they prompt some patients to refuse antiseizure medication?

And how on Earth to explain the case of the amputee who felt his orgasms centered in that missing foot?

No one -- no sexologist, no neuroscientist -- really knows. For a subject with so many armchair experts, the human orgasm is remarkably mysterious.

But today, a few scientists are making real progress -- in part because they're changing their focus. To uncover the orgasm's secrets, researchers are looking beyond the #######, #######, ####### and prostate, to the place behind the scenes where the true magic happens. They're examining the central nervous system: the network of electrical impulses that zip to and fro through the brain and spinal cord.

In an orgasm orchestra, the genitalia may be the instruments, but the central nervous system is the conductor.

Armed with new lab tools and fearless volunteers, scientists are getting first-ever glimpses of how the brain lights up (and, in places, shuts down) when the orgasmic fireworks go off. They're tracing nerves and finding new pathways for pleasure that help explain how people with shattered spinal cords can defy sexual expectations.

A few labs are even tinkering with devices that could put patients directly in touch with their orgasmic abilities by letting them observe their sexual brain patterns and "train" themselves to find the elusive frisson, or (in something akin to the Orgasmatron in Woody Allen's 1973 movie "Sleeper") letting them zap a sweet spot in their spinal cord with toe-curling electrical pulses.

"There's a tremendous amount we don't know about orgasms," says Barry R. Komisaruk, psychology professor at Rutgers University and coauthor of the 2006 book "The Science of Orgasm." "But we're on the verge of getting a lot of very important information and really understanding what to do with it."

It's not just the pleasure principle driving this research, says Julia R. Heiman, director of the Kinsey Institute, a nonprofit organization at Indiana University. Sex is an important part of human relationships, she says, which in turn can affect psychological health. "An awful lot of illness, or treatments for illnesses, interfere with people's orgasms," she says, including multiple sclerosis, cancer, Parkinson's disease, depression and diabetes.

Indeed, if surveys are to be believed, this most delightful of experiences is elusive for many. About 43% of women and 31% of men in the U.S. between ages 18 and 60 meet criteria for sexual dysfunctions, according to a 1999 report on the sexual behavior of more than 3,000 U.S. adults.

Orgasm researchers hope their efforts will help some of these people -- eventually. For now, reports are more likely to include the words "parasympathetic nervous system" than "try this at home tonight."

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-...1,6621596.story

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Great article! Super interesting.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Great article! Super interesting.

The full article is pretty long but you can read it from the link. Very interesting indeed. I had no idea about people who are paralyzed still having the ability to experience an orgasm. The human brain is an awesome machine.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Great article! Super interesting.

The full article is pretty long but you can read it from the link. Very interesting indeed. I had no idea about people who are paralyzed still having the ability to experience an orgasm. The human brain is an awesome machine.

Yeah, crazy isn't it?

I watched a documentary awhile back and just found that out myself.

We really are incredible.

Thanks for this.

[Ban Hammer 13,678]

A few labs are even tinkering with devices that could put patients directly in touch with their orgasmic abilities by letting them observe their sexual brain patterns and "train" themselves to find the elusive frisson, or (in something akin to the Orgasmatron in Woody Allen's 1973 movie "Sleeper") letting them zap a sweet spot in their spinal cord with toe-curling electrical pulses.

going to work would be extinct.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Great article! Super interesting.

The full article is pretty long but you can read it from the link. Very interesting indeed. I had no idea about people who are paralyzed still having the ability to experience an orgasm. The human brain is an awesome machine.

Yeah, crazy isn't it?

I watched a documentary awhile back and just found that out myself.

We really are incredible.

Thanks for this.

Sure. I just caught it when browsing the LA Times.

[yassmine2878 1]

I say its time for field research. Purely in the interest of science, y'know.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I say its time for field research. Purely in the interest of science, y'know.

OT - only 8 days to go before your baby arrives, Yassmine! Are you ready?

[yassmine2878 1]

I say its time for field research. Purely in the interest of science, y'know.

OT - only 8 days to go before your baby arrives, Yassmine! Are you ready?

Damn skippy. He's going to be big enough to go right straight into kindegarten upon birth. How's the wifey? Things going smoothly? Is she eating everything not tied down? Thats one of my favorite pasttimes. Hubster calls me the deen-o-sore for it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I say its time for field research. Purely in the interest of science, y'know.

OT - only 8 days to go before your baby arrives, Yassmine! Are you ready?

Damn skippy. He's going to be big enough to go right straight into kindegarten upon birth. How's the wifey? Things going smoothly? Is she eating everything not tied down? Thats one of my favorite pasttimes. Hubster calls me the deen-o-sore for it.

LOL...the doctor asked her last week about the birth weight of her son, Job (6lbs 7oz). He said, "Well this baby's going to be a lot bigger." Hope she won't have to have a C-section.

[Sheriff Uling 3]

Were you on google bored this morning and decided to looked up the word "orgasm"? Hehehehe!!!

Edited February 10, 2008 by Sheriff Uling

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Were you on google bored this morning and decided to looked up the word "orgasm"? Hehehehe!!!

No...this was an article in Sundays LA Times. It's worth the read...not what you might expect.

[Nessa 23]

Good Article, thanks

[simple_male 1]

Very interesting science indeed!

By Regina Nuzzo, Special to The Times

AS they seek to document and demystify one of life's great thrills, scientists have run across some real head-scratchers.

How, for example, can they explain the fact that some men and women who are paralyzed and numb below the waist are able to have orgasms?

How to explain the "orgasmic auras" that can descend at the onset of epileptic seizures -- sensations so pleasurable they prompt some patients to refuse antiseizure medication?

And how on Earth to explain the case of the amputee who felt his orgasms centered in that missing foot?

No one -- no sexologist, no neuroscientist -- really knows. For a subject with so many armchair experts, the human orgasm is remarkably mysterious.

But today, a few scientists are making real progress -- in part because they're changing their focus. To uncover the orgasm's secrets, researchers are looking beyond the #######, #######, ####### and prostate, to the place behind the scenes where the true magic happens. They're examining the central nervous system: the network of electrical impulses that zip to and fro through the brain and spinal cord.

In an orgasm orchestra, the genitalia may be the instruments, but the central nervous system is the conductor.

Armed with new lab tools and fearless volunteers, scientists are getting first-ever glimpses of how the brain lights up (and, in places, shuts down) when the orgasmic fireworks go off. They're tracing nerves and finding new pathways for pleasure that help explain how people with shattered spinal cords can defy sexual expectations.

A few labs are even tinkering with devices that could put patients directly in touch with their orgasmic abilities by letting them observe their sexual brain patterns and "train" themselves to find the elusive frisson, or (in something akin to the Orgasmatron in Woody Allen's 1973 movie "Sleeper") letting them zap a sweet spot in their spinal cord with toe-curling electrical pulses.

"There's a tremendous amount we don't know about orgasms," says Barry R. Komisaruk, psychology professor at Rutgers University and coauthor of the 2006 book "The Science of Orgasm." "But we're on the verge of getting a lot of very important information and really understanding what to do with it."

It's not just the pleasure principle driving this research, says Julia R. Heiman, director of the Kinsey Institute, a nonprofit organization at Indiana University. Sex is an important part of human relationships, she says, which in turn can affect psychological health. "An awful lot of illness, or treatments for illnesses, interfere with people's orgasms," she says, including multiple sclerosis, cancer, Parkinson's disease, depression and diabetes.

Indeed, if surveys are to be believed, this most delightful of experiences is elusive for many. About 43% of women and 31% of men in the U.S. between ages 18 and 60 meet criteria for sexual dysfunctions, according to a 1999 report on the sexual behavior of more than 3,000 U.S. adults.

Orgasm researchers hope their efforts will help some of these people -- eventually. For now, reports are more likely to include the words "parasympathetic nervous system" than "try this at home tonight."

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-...1,6621596.story