Males, in particular. I’ve heard that some folks who are paralyzed - even from the neck down - can still have sex. True or false? If so, how?
I mean “how” as in, why do they maintain things in that area while everything else around it is devoid of feeling, not “how” as in “well, some romantic music and a good dinner helps…” thank you.
Yer pal,
Satan
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I just read about this in Scientific American. I don’t have the issue and online they only have a one sentence summary of the article. Its called Male Sexual Circuitry Irwin Goldstein and the Working Group for the Study of Central Mechanisms in Erectile Dysfunction. It explains that the erection and ejaculatory response are part of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. These systems are centered in the lower spinal cord and are responsible for non-voluntary reponses. As long as the cord isn’t severed between the penis and the lower spinal cord, erection and ejaculation are possible. Since stimulus from the brain is lacking, physical stimulation of the penis is required to elicit an erection. Ejaculation can follow in the usual manner.
Some still encounter problems, even if the necessary connections are there. They may not be sufficient. Never the less, a significant number of paralyzed men can reproduce. The number is even higher for women who are paralyzed, nearly all of them can.
A biology TA of mine had a mnemonic device which might amuse some dopers. To help us remember which nervous system does what in regards to the male sexual response he gave us point and shoot. Pointing (e.g. erection) is controlled by the parasympthetic nervous system. Shooting (e.g. ejaculation) is controlled by the sympthetic nervous system. He was a strange fellow.
I saw an interview with Christopher Reeve. The interviewer (damn I do not remember who, but I think it may have been Larry King. I really have no idea) was asking questions about how they deal with all the changes to their life. Then he started asking them questions about hie wife, and their love life (I could tell what he was getting at…) Finally, Reeves says “Oh! That?!? Well that works just fine!” I did not know until then that paralyzed people could have sex.
You understand, there are some things I just can’t bring myself to ask my sister (whose husband is a quadriplegic, which is why this is relevant). If this isn’t #1 on the list, it’s damn close.
So, in lieu of asking her for details, I found a Web page. (Okay, so I’m a coward.) http://www.dreamblvr.com/ includes a number of references to post-spinal cord injury sex and sexuality, and a few links as well. (Look under “Stories/True Experiences”, and then “Can you guys still f***?”)
Paralyzed folks, I’ve read, can also still have orgasms. It seems that almost all sense information from the neck down gets transmitted via the spinal cord, but that there’s a backup route for a few things via the vagus nerve, genitals included. I guess it makes sense: If you could only feel one thing, what would you want it to be? I’ll try to find a cite this evening.
I think Hawking has several children, but that’s not relevant to this thread. Hawking hasn’t had a spinal cord injury; he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a progressive disease, and I’m pretty sure he was still motile and able to walk when he fathered his children.
If that wasn’t either a typo or a Freudian slip, it sure should’ve been!