Your brain on sex
Understanding how sex affects your brain can improve your roll in the hay, and it may also shed light on other parts of your health, says Barry R. Komisaruk, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. It's not the easiest subject to study—test subjects might have to masturbate in an MRI machine—so research is still developing. But scientists are starting to unravel the mystery. Here's what we know so far about your brain on sex.
Sex is like a drug
Sex makes us feel good. That's why we want it, like it, and spend so much time hunting for mates. The pleasure we get from sex is largely due to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that activates the reward center of the brain. Dopamine is also one of the chemicals responsible for the high people get on certain drugs. "Taking cocaine and having sex don't feel exactly the same, but they do involve the same [brain] regions as well as different regions of the brain," says Timothy Fong, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Caffeine, nicotine, and chocolate also tickle the reward center, says Komisaruk.Sex can act like an antidepressant
A 2002 study out of the University at Albany looked at 300 women and found that those who had sex without a condom had fewer depressive symptoms than women who did use a condom. The researchers hypothesized that various compounds in semen, including estrogen and prostaglandin, have antidepressant properties, which are then absorbed into the body after sex. (They corrected for other things that might affect both mood and condom use, such as being in a serious relationship or use of oral contraceptives.) This is good news for anyone who is in a committed relationship, but if you're still playing the field, then you shouldn't give up condoms. There are other ways to boost mood, but really no other way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
|
0 comments :
Post a Comment