Sex And Your Brain
Once a love rat, always a love rat?
In 2008, scientists found that men who tend to stray outside of committed relationships may be genetically pre-disposed to do so. In 2008, Swedish scientists looked at the DNA of 500 sets of identical twins, and quizzed them about their relationships. Men who ‘found it difficult to bond’ with women and who were unlikely to be married (although some were in long-term partnerships) were found to often have an exceptional gene – which affects the way the brain processes vasopressin, a hormone that is released after sex and which is thought to make men more inclined to bond with their partners. But is ‘I’m sorry, honey, my genes made me do it?’ a valid excuse for straying? We don’t think so – after all, we may be genetically inclined to have a monobrow, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t control it.
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istockWhy women are the multitasking masters
We’ve long suspected that men can’t do more than one thing at once, but the latest, comprehensive study seems to have proven it. In June 2010, researchers challenged 50 men and 50 women to complete a series of tasks to perform simultaneously, and, guess what? The women comprehensively bested the men even in the case of spatial tasks, like map-reading, which men should have performed better on in light of their tendency to have superior spatial awareness. The conclusion? When it comes to juggling several things at once, men struggle to plan how to do it – and this affects their performance. Maybe you should give your man a break next time you try to talk to him while he’s watching telly.
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iStockWhen we come, we’re gone
Yes, it’s a widely-held belief that women invest more emotion in sex than men. But at the moment of orgasm, it seems, the opposite may be true. Neuroscientists performed brain scans on 12 women while their partners stimulated them (brave volunteers, all of them...) and found, to their surprise, that at the moment of climax the women’s brain activity all but stopped – leading the lead researcher, Gert Holstege, to conclude, ‘At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings.’
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rex featuresWhy men get sleepy after sex
It’s pretty energetic and you do it in bed...so is it really surprising that your man drifts off after a love-making session? But yes, the brain is also involved: the cocktail of hormones that men release when they orgasm includes prolactin. More prolactin means more recovery time (that is, how long it is before he’s ready for a second round) and it also is present in higher levels in men when they are asleep...so scientists reckon it makes sense that he tends to drift off so quickly. And then there’s oxycontin and vasopressin – their release is often accompanied by melatonin, which is the key hormone that controls our body clocks. Altogether, it’s a pretty potent combination that leads to dreaming...
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istockThe male gaze
Whether or not you have caught him in the act, odds are that your man has taken a gander at pornography from time to time. But why do guys like looking at sexy images so much? Yup – the answer to this one is also buried deep in his brain – more specifically, in the amygdala, which is at the centre of the part of the brain that is active during pleasurable times. In contrast, scientists have found, women’s brains remain relatively dormant when exposed to sexy images.
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rex featuresThe female ear
But while men’s brains may drive them to look at sexy pictures, ours may draw us to crack open the latest Jilly Cooper novel: while pornographic photos may leave our amygdalas a bit uninterested, the language centres of our brains tend to be better developed...which means that sexy writing (or dirty talk, for that matter) can really turn us on. Perhaps a trade: you’ll watch a film with him if he’ll read out loud from your favourite sexy book. Fair’s fair...
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istockWhy he can’t read your mind
Have you ever felt like like your mood was perfectly clear in your actions but your man was just not picking up on it? That might be because he’s just not as good at reading emotions as you are. Various studies have indicated this, including one most recently that found that women (and gay men) were significantly better at recognising faces and facial expressions than straight men: we employ both hemispheres of our brain to do it, while they rely on only half, which is something of a disadvantage. And a reason, next time he doesn’t seem to notice that you’re in a bit of a huff, to tell him...
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istockThe key brain chemicals that act during sex
As we’ve already mentioned, the brain is a chemical playground when you have sex – arguably the best natural high you can have! We’ve looked at the effect of some chemicals on the male brain, but what about on yours? Unsurprisingly, it’s not entirely simple. There’s adrenaline, which is what gives you that funny feeling in the pit of your stomach when you fancy someone, and dopamine, which is a chemical that activates desire...for chocolate as well as for love. Serotonin is the ‘happy’ hormone – it keeps your man in your thoughts because he makes you feel cheery. During sex itself, oxytocin and vasopressin are key. The first is released when you orgasm; it makes you feel pleasure and an inclination to draw closer to your partner. And vasopressin helps women, as well as men, form attachments...which is why you’re more likely to fall in love with a man with whom you have good, satisfying sex, than one who doesn’t quite do it for you.
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Rex FeaturesWhat he’s thinking
OK, so everyone knows that men think about sex a lot. But 5000 times a year? Yes, according to research that was published recently – if your guy gets a vacant look on his face approximately once an hour, it’s not unlikely that it’s because he’s having one of his approximately 13 daily sexy thoughts. Perhaps, unfortunately for them, they don’t actually have sex nearly as much as they think about it – the average is just 104 times a year.
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rex featuresQuick decisions
Do you believe in love at first sight? It’s controversial, but scientists seem to have proven that attraction at first sight definitely exists. Neuroscientists tested this in subjects by hooking them up to brain scan technology and then showing them photographs of people, asking them to rate them on their attractiveness. Their findings? That subjects, both men and women, decided in a tiny two-tenths of a second whether they found a person desirable or not. Pretty swift – but the good news, of course, is that this initial desireability test has not been shown to definitively lead to happy marriages. In other words, just because someone doesn’t strike you as amazing when you first clap eyes on him (or vice versa) doesn’t mean that love won’t blossom.
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