09 June,2016 04:58 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
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
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.
