What Do MRI Brains Scans of Orgasming people Look Like?

[ralph124c]

I caught a bit of a show on TV, where they were doing research on orgasming couple. They managed to put a copulating couple in an MRI scanning machine, and monitored the people as they orgasmed.
What happens? Does the whole brain light up? Neurons firing everywhere?
Is an orgasm like a 4th of July fireworks show in your brain?

[si_blakely]

It looks like this (New Scientist).

I’m pretty sure the couple in the MRI were involved in a study of the mechanics of PIV intercourse, as opposed to brain function. In a fMRI, the target area has to remain still - clamped heads are not conducive to “happy moments”.

Si

[njtt]

@ralph124c

Does the whole brain light up? Neurons firing everywhere?

That would be an epileptic seizure, not an orgasm.

Actually I am skeptical about this whole story. To get a decent MRI scan of anything, especially a brain (where the interest is in minute differences in activity, often between closely adjacent areas), it needs to be kept very still for a significant amount of time. How are people having sex going to manage that? Maybe you could make it work by clamping someone’s head as they receive oral,or a hand job, but I can’t see it working for a couple having intercourse.

An awful lot of bullshit about brain fMRIs gets into the popular media.

[DSeid]

@ralph124c

I caught a bit of a show on TV, where they were doing research on orgasming couple. They managed to put a copulating couple in an MRI scanning machine, and monitored the people as they orgasmed.
What happens? Does the whole brain light up? Neurons firing everywhere?
Is an orgasm like a 4th of July fireworks show in your brain?

fMRI of female brain during orgasm. (In this case in women with spinal cord injury.)

… generated by vaginal-cervical mechanical self-stimulation (VCSS) … Brain regions activated during orgasm included the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, amygdala, accumbens-bed nucleus of the stria terminalis-preoptic area, hippocampus, basal ganglia (especially putamen), cerebellum, and anterior cingulate,
insular, parietal and frontal cortices, and lower brainstem (central gray, mesencephalic reticular formation, and NTS)

Yes pictures in the article and very safe for work.

Thisin “healthy” women by clitoral stimulation.

Sexual stimulation of the clitoris (compared to rest) significantly increased rCBF in the left
secondary and right dorsal primary somatosensory cortex, providing the first account of neocortical processing of sexual clitoral
information. In contrast, orgasm was mainly associated with profound rCBF decreases in the neocortex when compared with the
control conditions (clitoral stimulation and imitation of orgasm), particularly in the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, inferior temporal
gyrus and anterior temporal pole. Significant positive correlations were found between RPstd and rCBF in the left deep cerebellar
nuclei, and between PSA and rCBF in the ventral midbrain and right caudate nucleus. We propose that decreased blood flow in the
left lateral orbitofrontal cortex signifies behavioural disinhibition during orgasm in women, and that deactivation of the temporal lobe is
directly related to high sexual arousal. In addition, the deep cerebellar nuclei may be involved in orgasm-specific muscle contractions
while the involvement of the ventral midbrain and right caudate nucleus suggests a role for dopamine in female sexual arousal and
orgasm.

And in males by PET scan. (Heavy PETting?)

Manual penile stimulation was performed by the volunteer’s female partner. Primary activation was found in the mesodiencephalic transition zone, including the ventral tegmental area, which is involved in a wide variety of rewarding behaviors. Parallels are drawn between ejaculation and heroin rush. Other activated mesodiencephalic structures are the midbrain lateral central tegmental field, zona incerta, subparafascicular nucleus, and the ventroposterior, midline, and intralaminar thalamic nuclei. Increased activation was also present in the lateral putamen and adjoining parts of the claustrum.

Neocortical activity was only found in Brodmann areas 7/40, 18, 21, 23, and 47, exclusively on the right side. On the basis of studies in rodents, the medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and amygdala are thought to be involved in ejaculation, but increased rCBF was not found in any of these regions. Conversely, in the amygdala and adjacent entorhinal cortex, a decrease in activation was observed.

Remarkably strong rCBF increases were observed in the cerebellum. These findings corroborate the recent notion that the cerebellum plays an important role in emotional processing. The present study for the first time provides insight into which regions in the human brain play a primary role in ejaculation, and the results might have important implications for our understanding of how human ejaculation is brought about, and for our ability to improve sexual function and satisfaction in men.

Sorry that the actual answers are not so exciting.

[iftheresaway]

I just finished Mary Roach’s Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science & Sex (it was excellent, as all her books are), which had a lot more information and some first-person accounts of couples who’ve had sex in MRI tubes. As a matter of fact, I believe the author and her husband did it, since the doctor running the study said it would be too problematic for her to observe a study participant.