Sex, a taboo topic, especially at a Jesuit school. But as an undergraduate neuroscience major, one of the major things I learned was the influence of the pleasure pathway on human behavior. One of the aspects of the pleasure pathway includes and I quote “good sex”.
However, since sex is a taboo, it is a subject that is not
often talked about amongst scientific friends in a “scientific way.” The goal of this blog post is to explore quite literally the idea of "good sex," and motivations behind sex including the dopamine pathway. Recently, I read some excerpts from a book titled Why Good Sex Matters by
Nan Wise, PhD. Wise, 2020, in the first page, specifically states a colleague asked “why sex,” in which they responded that when they became a therapist they had noticed that often times the
struggles that clients talked to him about came down to anhedonia or the lack
of pleasure and that he was able to link some of this problems to
issues with their sex life (p. i-xi).
One interesting article that I found did not actually have
to do with the direct pleasure circuits of sex but rather had to do with the
motivations behind sexual hookups in college students. Researchers interviewed 115
students at a Southeast United States University and specifically investigated
their motivation behind their last “hookup,” (Thorpe et al., 2021). Researcher’s
results found that the majority number of participants (N=74), participated in
sexual hookups for reasons of pleasure. Researchers found that the lowest number
of participants, (N=4), engaged in sexual relations to “fit in,” a typical social
pressure that researchers predicted would lead to a larger number of students
engaging in sexual activities (Thorpe et al., 2021).
This led me to explore the pleasure pathway of sex. The main
neurotransmitter linked to sex is dopamine. Dopamine is often linked to
pleasure and reward, where in sex can lead to both pleasure and reward from
both participants. Researchers have found that the mesolimbic-mesocortical
dopamine system has found dopamine to be released during sexual activity,
linking to sexual pleasure and reward (Melis et al., 1995). This allows those
participating in sexual behaviors to feel pleasure, an important part of health
and well-being.
So, in conclusion, the important take away is that sex can lead
to a release of dopamine and is often influenced by pleasure. But, always
remember to be safe when participating in said “good sex!”
Melis, M. R., &
Argiolas, A. (1995). Dopamine and sexual behavior. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 19(1), 19-38.
Thorpe, S., & Kuperberg,
A. (2021). Social Motivations for College Hookups. Sexuality & Culture, 25(2), 623-645.
Wise, N. (2020). Why Good Sex Matters: Understanding the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a
Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose-filled Life. Houghton Mifflin.
amazing post Danielle! I was interested to understand if there was a crosslink between pleasure and pain and why people find pain pleasurable. Mesolimbic dopamine pathway is involved in variety of different behavioral disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, ADHD and pain response. Leknes, S., & Tracey, I. (2008) found the common brain region for both pain and pleasure includes anterior insula, and lateral prefrontal cortex, which could explain why some people may find pain pleasurable.
ReplyDeleteLeknes, S., & Tracey, I. (2008). A common neurobiology for pain and pleasure. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(4), 314–320. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1038/nrn2333
Hi Sabitra! Thank you for the comment! After reading your comment I decided to do a little bit of research on this link between sexual pleasure and I came across some interesting articles balancing sexual pleasure and sexual health. I found in one article that the link between sexual pleasure and pain is a tough one to understand sometimes because although pain and pleasure can sometimes be linked, other social factors come into play regarding sexual health. An individual needs to feel safe and secure to experience some sexual pleasure. Therefore, although these two are linked, to truly experience sexual pleasure in an individual it is important to emphasize their health and safety in their sexuality and encounters (Gruskin et al., 2019)! I think this is fascinating and a good read if you are further interested.
DeleteGruskin, S., Yadav, V., Castellanos-Usigli, A., Khizanishvili, G., & Kismödi, E. (2019). Sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure: meaningfully engaging the perfect triangle. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27(1), 29-40.
This was a phenomenal post Danielle and was really interesting to contextualize in regard to attending a Jesuit university while studying science. I also really enjoyed the underlying wit as well! In reading your post, I was wondering if there is any correlation between sex and productivity, and to my surprise there totally was. In a study done in 2017 at Oregon State University, “employees who engaged in sex during the night prior reported more positive moods the next day, and the elevated mood levels in the morning led to more sustained work engagement and job satisfaction throughout the workday” (Leavitt, Barnes, Watkins, & Wagner, 2017). With this in mind, do you think employers should advocate for their employee’s to have an active and engaged sex life and if so, what do you think would be the impact(s) on the company? Do you think this could also spillover into (grad) students being more productive and engaged in their work based on their sex habits? Higher test scores perhaps!
ReplyDeleteLeavitt, K., Barnes, C. M., Watkins, T., & Wagner, D. T. (2019). From the Bedroom to the Office: Workplace Spillover Effects of Sexual Activity at Home. Journal of Management, 45(3), 1173–1192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317698022
Hey Joe! Thank you for the comment! This is a super interesting article that you found regarding the benefit of sex during the work day. I definitely think this question is not an easy one to answer when referring to what employers should do in regards to their employees sex lives (as it is kind of personal). However, from the information you found and this super interesting article. I definitely think besides the initial pleasure experienced during sex, there are long term benefits of a healthy sex life as well, backed up by the research you found. I think as graduate students, we are all stressed out and overwhelmed with our course load and class load. Therefore, by this reasoning, I would assume that anything that could help lead students to be more successful in their lives and in their education should be explored. However, I do emphasize the importance of safe sex! During sexual relationships and sexual encounters, oxytocin is found to be released. This is a strong neuropeptide that is linked to social bonding. In another interesting article, oxytocin was also found to reduce stress in individuals of both male and female sex (Love, 2018). Therefore by combining the increased productivity after having sexual relationships and the stress relieving aspect of oxytocin, it would be safe to assume that having an active healthy sex life could help students improve test scores and make them more productive in school.
DeleteLove, T. M. (2018). The impact of oxytocin on stress: the role of sex. Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 23, 136-142.
Hey Danielle!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post and interesting read! As I was reading your post, it had me wondering about sex addiction and if there would be similarities to drug or substance addiction. A study done at the University of Cambridge looked at the brain activity participants with compulsive sexual behavior. These individuals started watching pornography at a really early age and very frequently, resulting in problems controlling their sexual behavior and this heavily effects their lives. These behaviors are similar to those with drug addiction and, this study found that their brain activity basically mirrors the brain activity of a drug addict. That being said, do you think there is potential for someone who is having issues with their sex life and lack pleasure, to potentially become addicted if that aspect were to improve and do you think this could be an area of concern if you were the therapist? The link is the review of the study, but the link for the actual study is included in the review! Thanks for an awesome read! https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/brain-activity-in-sex-addiction-mirrors-that-of-drug-addiction
Hi Danielle! I appreciate your willingness to touch upon such a taboo in our Jesuit community! I was very intrigued by your reference to college hookups due to how common it has become. A recent study focused on the intentions of male vs females after a hookup and found a very interesting trend. This trend highlighted a lack of interest in men to further a romantic relationship post hookup when comparing to women. This was shown in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. But why is this? A study conducted at McGill University found that men produced 52% more serotonin than women. Serotonin is a mood regulating hormone which can affect the attachment of a person to another. Can this be the reason why women are more likely to want something more?
ReplyDeleteDolan, E. W. (2020, November 2). New study suggests college hookups are often meaningful interactions rather than fleeting events. Relationships and Sexual Health, Social Psychology. https://www.psypost.org/2020/11/new-study-suggests-college-hookups-are-often-meaningful-interactions-rather-than-fleeting-events-58441
Stein , R. (1997, May 13). WOMEN PRODUCE LESS SEROTONIN, STUDY INDICATES. The Washington Post . https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/05/13/women-produce-less-serotonin-study-indicates/6f1aa3ac-568d-44a9-87fb-28738b4dbd9e/