Ever wondered what goes through a woman’s mind when she experiences an orgasm? Well, wonder no more! Researchers at a reputed American University have found just that.
Representational picture
For the study, 8 women were requested to pleasure themselves while lying under a blanket inside a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner, a tunnel-like machine often used to detect brain tumours. Most women took less than five minutes to climax, although some took as long as 20. The MRI scanner took images of their brain every two seconds to show which parts became active during the orgasm.
The team found the following during the study:
– The brain’s reward centres become active two minutes before the orgasm. These areas are usually activated when eating food and drink.
– The brain’s sensory cortex, which receives “touch” messages from parts of the body and the thalamus, which relays signals to other parts of the body.
– The hypothalamus, the ”control” part of the brain, which regulates temperature, hunger, thirst and tiredness is the final part that is activated.
– The nucleus accumbens – as well as the caudate nucleus, which is responsible for memory is activated at the same time.
The researchers discovered that sexual arousal numbs the female nervous system to such an extent that she doesn’t feel as much pain-only pleasure. They said, orgasm affects up to 30 different parts of the brain including those responsible for emotion, touch, joy, satisfaction and memory.
Did you know?
10 to 15 seconds: The average amount of time that the female orgasm lasts.
6 seconds: The average time a male orgasm lasts.
Some women experience orgasms and don’t know it!
A womans sexual feelings can be every bit as strong as that of any man. Her clitoris contains as many nerves as the head of a mans penis, but in a much smaller area, so, the sensations she feels there are more intense.
Only about a third of women experience orgasm regularly during intercourse. One third can reach orgasm with intercourse but need extra stimulation. One in three never achieve orgasm during intercourse, but can, by manual and oral stimulation. Having orgasms by means other than intercourse is a normal variation of female sexuality. (Read more)
Revealed: The difference between male and female orgasms
For the last 40 years biologists have been debating whether female orgasm evolved to give women a reproductive boost, or whether it is simply a by-product of male orgasm evolution.
If female orgasm is a simple by-product of male orgasm, researchers argue, then similar genes would underlie orgasmic function in both men and women. (Read more)
Woman who have orgasms during sex walk differently!
Belgium researchers took women with known histories of either vaginal orgasm or inability to orgasm from sex and videotaped them walking on the street, and their orgasmic status was judged by sexologists blind to their history.
In the sample of healthy young Belgian women, half of whom were vaginally orgasmic, history of vaginal orgasm that was triggered solely by penile-vaginal intercourse, was diagnosable at far better than chance. (Read more)
Sex talk and women
Women, especially those who are young, often open up with each other and discuss various aspects of their sex life, revelead a recently conducted study at an US university. There are many benefits to talking about sex with friends. A study conducted by Harvard University says that having a confidante boosts physical functioning and vitality among women. Moreover, open and honest talk with such confidantes also can help reduce stress.