Positive Psychology and Sex
Positive Psychology and Sex
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Positive Psychology and Sex
1.0 Role of emotions in sex and orgasm
Brain scanning studies show that sex is a major turn off for women. The brain scans show that many parts of the female brain actually switch off. This shows that women lack emotional feelings during orgasms (Prause, 2009). A research was carried out on thirteen healthy partners. The research compared three states of rest; faked orgasm, stimulated clitoris and clitoris stimulated to orgasm point while the women lay with her head inside a PET scanner. The results from the study showed that stimulation of the women triggers the brain’s sensory part known as the primary somatosensory cortex but inhibits the stimulus of the hippocampus and the amygdale which are the regions responsible for anxiety and alertness (Prause, 2009). Several regions of the brain were also found to be active during orgasm as compared to the resting state. One of these regions is the prefrontal cortex. This study confirms the historical knowledge that women cannot find sex enjoyable if they have distractions, worries and are not relaxed. Anxiety and fear levels have to be low for a woman to have an orgasm.
The explanation offered by Prause, (2009)for this extraordinary behaviour is that emotions are switched off in the brain during sex and that the individual finds more importance in the chance of producing an off spring than the risk of surviving. This extraordinary behaviour can also be seen to march with hares during the breeding season when the fear of predators is overridden by the mating urge (Handa, 2006). An explanation has not however been given to explain the extreme deactivation in the various parts of the brain during orgasm(Hiller, Wood & Bolton, 2006). The cerebellum, which is responsible for movement coordination and to some extent regulation of emotions, was the only part found to be activated more during the female orgasm. It is
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Tutor:
Positive Psychology and Sex
1.0 Role of emotions in sex and orgasm
Brain scanning studies show that sex is a major turn off for women. The brain scans show that many parts of the female brain actually switch off. This shows that women lack emotional feelings during orgasms (Prause, 2009). A research was carried out on thirteen healthy partners. The research compared three states of rest; faked orgasm, stimulated clitoris and clitoris stimulated to orgasm point while the women lay with her head inside a PET scanner. The results from the study showed that stimulation of the women triggers the brain’s sensory part known as the primary somatosensory cortex but inhibits the stimulus of the hippocampus and the amygdale which are the regions responsible for anxiety and alertness (Prause, 2009). Several regions of the brain were also found to be active during orgasm as compared to the resting state. One of these regions is the prefrontal cortex. This study confirms the historical knowledge that women cannot find sex enjoyable if they have distractions, worries and are not relaxed. Anxiety and fear levels have to be low for a woman to have an orgasm.
The explanation offered by Prause, (2009)for this extraordinary behaviour is that emotions are switched off in the brain during sex and that the individual finds more importance in the chance of producing an off spring than the risk of surviving. This extraordinary behaviour can also be seen to march with hares during the breeding season when the fear of predators is overridden by the mating urge (Handa, 2006). An explanation has not however been given to explain the extreme deactivation in the various parts of the brain during orgasm(Hiller, Wood & Bolton, 2006). The cerebellum, which is responsible for movement coordination and to some extent regulation of emotions, was the only part found to be activated more during the female orgasm. It is
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