It’s something that many women have wondered during passionate romps.
What exactly is going on in a man’s brain during sex?
Now, scientists may finally have the answer, after analysing the brain activity of mice as they mate.
Their analysis shows that an ‘intricate dance’ involving two chemicals goes on in the male brain during sex.
And it’s this dance that controls the progression of sex, leading up to ejaculation.
Although this research was conducted on mice, the scientists emphasize that the brain regions and chemical systems involved in sexual function are comparable in men.
And in the future, the findings could pave the way for a treatment for men with premature ejaculation.
‘I am confident that our study has paved the way for the creation of medical treatments,’ noted Ai Miyasaka, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the primary author of the investigation.
It’s something that many women have wondered during passionate romps. What exactly is going on in a man’s brain during sex? (stock image)
While sexual behaviour has been widely studied before, until now, most research has focused on the initiation of sex.
However, what happens in the brain during other phases has remained a mystery until now.
This includes mounting, the insertion of the penis into the vagina, and ejaculation.
‘Sexual behavior is a complex sequence of events,’ explained senior author Qinghua Liu of the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing.
In their new study, the researchers studied the brain activity of male mice throughout the entire series of actions involved in sex.
The team injected fluorescent sensors into the nucleus accumbens – the region of the brain that plays a role in reward.
If the brain discharged dopamine (a substance commonly linked to pleasure) and acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter that manages dopamine), an optic fiber would illuminate.
The results revealed an intricate dance between the two chemicals at every stage.
Now, scientists may finally have the answer, after analysing the brain activity of male mice throughout the series of actions involved in sex. Their analysis shows that an ‘intricate dance’ involving two chemicals goes on in the male brain during sex
Prior to mounting, the male mouse brains started to release acetylcholine ‘rhythmically’.
About six seconds later, the brain also began releasing dopamine.
Then, when the male inserted his penis into a female mouse’s vagina, the release of acetylcholine and dopamine fluctuated in time with the mouse’s thrusting movements.
Finally, for the males that reached ejaculation, the dopamine release slowed down significantly before quickly rising during the transition to ejaculation.
‘The study revealed the dynamics of how different chemicals work together in the brain to regulate the transitions through different stages of male sexual behavior,’ Dr Liu said.
Mice and humans have different sexual behaviours, but their brain regions and neurotransmitters might be similar, according to the researchers.
They suggest that this research could provide new clues to treating sexual dysfunction, particularly premature ejaculation, which affects 20 per cent to 30 per cent of sexually active men.
‘We anticipate that our findings will be a starting point for more sophisticated studies into the molecular and neural mechanisms that govern ejaculation timing and the potential development of new therapeutics for sexual dysfunctions in humans,’ they concluded in their study, published in the journal Neuron.
