Science of Sex

Science of Sex is a monthly feature on Of Sex and Love in which I discuss the science of sexuality in an easy-to-digest format that’s accessible to the casual reader.

I end with some extended reading material for people who want to know more about the subject of each post.

Previous topics include the dual-control model of sexual arousal, pheromones, the women of sexology, and habituation of sexual arousal. Find the entire archive below.

Check back every second Saturday for a new sexy science post.

Science of Sex: Mindfulness as a Treatment for Sexual Dysfunction

July 14th, 2018

This month’s Science of Sex post is directly inspired by the book that I reviewed by Dr. Lori Brotto and, in fact, will draw from several of her studies. Mindfulness at first times to be new agey– more hype that hypothesis. But multiple studies have shown that mindfulness can have a positive impact on many facets of life, sex among them. So this month’s Science of Sex post focuses on that.

Check out previous Science of Sex posts here.

Mindfulness as a Treatment for Sexual Dysfunction

Dr. Brotto does a good job of explaining what mindfulness is in her book: it’s an awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, that allows you to create a distance with them, which can reduce the impact of pain, for example. But mindfulness also helps you remain more in the moment to focus on sensation. We’ll start with Brotto’s work since she’s done so much.

In one study, Brotto and her team found that while mindfulness didn’t necessarily increase arousal, it does increase women’s’ awareness of their physical/genital arousal, in turn increasing arousal concordance (symmetry between observed physical and genital arousal).

Another study by Brotto et al found that a group of 31 endometrial cancer survivors experienced improvements in multiple aspects of sexual functioning — desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm,  and satisfaction — after participating in three sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy. And the improvements remained six months later.

Yet another study by Brotto found four sessions of a “mindfulness-based therapy significantly improved sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, satisfaction, and overall sexual functioning”. Continued sessions resulted in further improvements in genital and mental excitement. Any immediate improvements continued to a 6-month followup.

Finally, a 2008 study found similar improvements in women’s’ sexual function when exposed to mindfulness training. Furthermore, women who had previously experienced sexual abuse benefited the most from mindfulness compared to all participants.

Clearly, Dr. Brotto has done a lot of research on mindfulness and sexual function and talks about a 60% increase in sexual function after mindfulness in one of her studies. I think we can expect that to continue. But she’s not the only one. Time and again, studies suggest that mindfulness could be key to an improved sex life.

One such study compared how long it took men and women to register their physical arousal, finding that men did it significantly quicker than women. Mindfulness meditation enabled women to require less time to notice bodily responses, putting them on par with men. Additionally, women who practiced mindfulness were less judgmental toward themselves. Others found that mindfulness may be helpful to people who experienced sexual abuse as children.

Yet another study posited that people with more disproportional mindfulness would be less likely to engage in sexually compulsive behaviors or use drugs and found this to be true. Finally, a survey of women who completed mindfulness-based therapy online only found improvements in sexual function.

Studies on mindfulness have focuses on women, perhaps because they’re more likely to experience certain sorts of sexual dysfunction (low desire, difficulty with arousal, impaired pleasure, etc), but it’s reasonable that men could improve their sex lives by learning and practicing mindfulness, too. Some sources even state that mindfulness could help people with ED and at least one study focuses on sensate touch, a type of mindfulness program originally developed by Masters and Johnson, as a possible aid here. I’d like to see mindfulness applied to men. Otherwise, the science is promising.

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Science of Sex: The G-spot

June 26th, 2018

This month’s Science of Sex is even later than usual, but I hope you don’t mind. I am continuing with the theme of female sexuality and contentious subject. What better topic than the G-spot?

Don’t forget to check out the Science of Sex archives if you’re new here!

science of sex the g-spot

The G Spot: And Other Discoveries about Human Sexuality by Beverly Whipple, Alas Ladas, and John Perry was published four years before I was born, and it’s still one of the most highly rated books about the G-spot. It introduced sexual people to the Grafenberg area, or the G-spot, inside the vagina. Despite over three decades in publication and a long list of glowing reviews lauding the book for its wealth of information, the G-spot is still treated by some people as a myth. This ignores thousands of reports of people who have successfully located and stimulated their own G-spots.

It’s understandable why. The science of the G-spot is frustrating at best. There seem to be more reviews wondering whether the G-spot exists than there are studies arguing either for or against its existence. Even trained scientists seem unsure what to do with the results of studies. Titles include words such as ‘myth” and “fantasy.” Have we really learned so little about the G-spot after so much time?

There have been several small-scale studies that investigated the location and the very existence of the G-spot. Unfortunately, many of them have either produced inconclusive results or declared that the G-spot does not exist as an entity. One of the most notable of these studies was released only in 2014, 32 years after Whipple published her book! One study looked at twins and stated simply that there is no “genetic” basis for the G-spot. Many people rely on these reports to scream, ‘See!? The G-spot doesn’t exist!”. But they’re not looking at the bigger picture.

You’ll find some sex educators remarking that this is technically correct because the G-spot isn’t distinct, an orange unto itself and the researchers understand its form and function (as well as that of the clitoral). Rather, it’s a location within the vagina through which the clitoris can be stimulated internally to elicit a sexual response. That is, the G-spot isn’t a spot, after all. This also goes to show that people misunderstand the clitoris and underestimate how large and impressive the entire structure is.

Some studies do suggest the existence of the G-spot, including one from 2012 that described it as “a distinguishable anatomic structure that is located on the dorsal perineal membrane, 16.5 mm from the upper part of the urethral meatus, and creates a 35° angle with the lateral border of the urethra”.

But just because some women experience a response through the front vaginal wall in a location identified as the G-spot doesn’t mean that others do — or even that this response will be positive or lead to orgasms or squirting (remember that I covered female ejaculation in a previous installment of Science of Sex). My own responses vary and are sometimes surprising. To expect that every person with a vagina will have a G-spot or enjoy G-spot stimulation oversimplifies the issue.

Further research is clearly necessary, and I am glad that researchers continue to look into the G-spot. I also encourage my readers to continue their own experimentation into G-spot stimulation as part of a healthy sex life.

Further Reading

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Science of Sex: Female Sexual Dysfunction

May 19th, 2018

Welcome to my latest installment of Science of Sex. I’ve officially be doing these for more than a year and have more planned! If you want to check out my archives, click here. Otherwise, enjoy this month’s post!science of sex - female sexual dysfunction

Today we’re venturing into the realm of female sexual dysfunction, just what it is, and why that title might not actually be helpful.

At its heart, female sexual dysfunction is an issue with sexual functioning in a woman. This can include a number of conditions and concerns, but four of the main ones are:

  • Desire : Many women and sometimes their partners describe their lack of spontaneous desire as a dysfunction. However, studies show that women are more likely to have responsive desire than men. This is not a dysfunction as much as it is a difference in sexual function. Furthermore, some have suggested that the traditional stages of arousal may not apply as well to women whose arousal process is more cyclical. It’s also important to understand that a woman’s sexual brakes are often quite touchy (learn more about this). Finally, low desire often corresponds to relationship issues, so it’s not so much a sign of sexual dysfunction as it is one of relationship dysfunction.
  • Arousal: Female sexual dysfunction can also present as a lack of physical arousal. This highlights further incorrect assumptions or beliefs about female sexuality. First, it doesn’t take into consideration that women are much less likely to experience concordance – an alignment between mental desire and physical arousal – than men and, secondly, it ignores the variance in a woman’s natural lubrication.
  • Orgasm: Some women may describe their inability to orgasm through sexual intercourse as dysfunction, but multiple surveys have found that the majority of women need clitoral stimulation to orgasm and very few achieving orgasm solely through penetration. At least one study reports a group of women who prefer penetration/sex with their clit stim as a way to get off.
  • Pain: Too many women experience pain during intercourse (in fact, at least one study has found that the bar for good sex for women is so low that they simply describe it as sex that is not painful). This is often remedied by increasing foreplay to encourage arousal, using lube and improved sexual communication. While conditions such as vaginismus and endometriosis can lead to pain during sex, painful sex can also be a symptom of poor technique and can often be ameliorated by changing the script.

Of course, there are other types of dysfunction, including those that center on physical issues and are not rooted in psychological or romantic distress. But the solution or treatment to any one of these “dysfunctions” may not be at all alike to the treatment for any other dysfunction.

The problem is that the term sexual dysfunction itself is not well-defined, and female sexual dysfunction is even more poorly defined because the umbrella term lumps together so many potential issues, including those that may be easily rectified by a better understanding of female sexuality. Furthermore, having a stronger grasp on female sexuality would show that some so-called dysfunctions are simply functions of sexuality in women that do not need to be pathologized. Of course, it’s not like men don’t suffer from this. It’s not a dysfunction if men ejaculate within ten minutes — it’s the norm — but the deep-seated misunderstanding of female sexual function had led to a lot of suffering.

Fortunately, doctors have devised questionnaires such as the aptly-named Sexual Function Questionnaire, and other tools to more readily diagnose sexual dysfunctions and focus on the root of the problem, whether it may be physical, relational, or a combination of factors. Sex therapists and educators are also making great strides in adjusting public and personal views of normal and healthy sexual function. For example, Dr. Emily Nagoski has written about desire and arousal in her book Come As You Are, Dr. Laurie Mintz shed light on clitoral stimulation in her own book Becoming Cliterate, and Dr. Lori Brotto helps women experience greater sexual function in her recently-released book Better Sex Through Mindfulness.

It should come as no surprise that women working on sexual research and providing sex therapy offer unique insight into female sexuality and what truly is dysfunction. If you’re interested in that topic, check out my post on  about the Women of Sexology

Further Reading

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Science of Sex: Female Ejaculation

April 28th, 2018

Guess what guys?! I’ve been writing the Science of Sex once a month for over a year. That’s pretty awesome! I am definitely glad to take suggestions like I did with this post. Just leave a comment, and it could become next month’s topic!

science of sex female ejaculation

To be honest, I didn’t really want to write a post about female ejaculation, but this is a request from a friend, so I decided to dip a toe into the water — if that’s what it even is.

Therein really lies the issue with female ejaculation, FE for short. Researchers have yet to prove what exactly is it; although, at least one study have claimed it’s just pee. Whenever a science team makes this claim, however, women are not so happy about it. It’s similar to when reports arise claiming that no G-spot exists.

Let’s start with what we do know:

  • All women are able to squirt a small amount of liquid, prostatic secretion, which contains prostate-specific antigen, that’s created in the Skene’s glands, also known as the paraurethral glands. The fluid is milky and white.
  • Some women are able to ejaculate a larger amount of liquid. It also comes from the urethra but is much greater in volume. This liquid is stored in the bladder before ejaculation.
  • Some women may be able to ejaculate but do not, so the liquid moves backward. This is known as retrograde ejaculation.

Here’s something else we know: FE in porn is often fakes. A woman’s vagina is filled with water, and she pushes it out. It looks good from the camera, but it’s not coming from the urethra.

But let’s back up. There’s one survey that I cannot ignore when talking about female ejaculation. In this survey, researchers used ultrasounds to view bladders. The women used the bathrooms to empty their bladders, and this was verified by the ultrasound. The women began stimulating themselves. After these women had orgasms, researchers collected samples from the liquid. Researchers used the ultrasound to show that the bladder was again empty. Although, we aren’t aware of how long it was between scans.

Some of the liquid contained PSA, but researchers determined there was also urine by looking for urea, creatinine, and uric acid (although, there were no trends between levels measured before, during and after FE). They concluded that squirting prostatic fluid and gushing were two different activities. This was not the first study to come to this conclusion.

However, at least five previous studies have also looked for these chemical markers and found no sign of creatinine in FE.

The one thing that struck me, assuming the newer French study is accurate, was that perhaps any fluid in the bladder would contain trace amounts of the chemicals that scientists tested for in the FE. Could it be not that this means these chemicals are markers of urine but simply markers of fluid that has been contained in the bladder? If that were the case, how would we absolutely define what is urine and what isn’t?

According to Dr. Debby Hebernick, female ejaculate is very diluted urine. This is backed up by anecdotal evidence that FE has a different smell/taste from urine. Dr. Grafenberg also described FE as having “no urinary character.”

I’ve also read from medical professionals that this diluted urine has not been filtered by the kidneys and perhaps could not be due to the volume of fluid.

I don’t know of any studies have that tested the following claim, but it’s worth mentioning. Medications that affect urine do not necessarily affect FE, perhaps because it’s not filtered by the kidneys.

The only thing that remains for sure after the 2015 study is that more research must be done, especially with a control group larger than seven women. And scientists must ask more specific questions than “Does FE contain these chemical markers?”.

Some studies have asked better questions than this one. For example, the writers ponder whether FE might serve an antimicrobial purpose, which could spell good news for people who struggle with UTIs from sex.

Other papers remind us that female ejaculation was readily accepted as a sexual function thousands of years ago, but society seems to have forgotten this a time or two.

But as it the case with so many aspects of female sexuality, we need to spend more money and time to learn more.

More information about female ejaculation

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Science of Sex: How Sex Research Is Done

March 31st, 2018

A few months ago, I took a look at some of the awesome women who are researching (and writing about sex). Now, I want to touch on just how that research is done. Someone somewhere is taking the time to study people in a lab as they watch porn or have sex or to hand out questionnaires to anyone who is willing to check a few boxes (or click a few links).

Thus, this week's Science of Sex post is all about how that research is performed.

Remember, if you like this post, I update Science of Sex every second-ish Saturday of the month!

In the beginning, there was Kinsey, who was asking people ostensibly invasive questions about their sex lives. Kinsey was not the first to do so, but he was among the first to really attract attention for his work. Kinsey didn't just interview subjects, however. Kinsey had filmed homosexual prostitutes ejaculating in the attic of his own home for one study. He also invited 30 couples into his home to masturbated and have sex while being recorded. Kinsey has since been described as a voyeur and even some of his contemporaries were wary of the way he went about his studies and whether his interest was purely scientific. It's difficult to imagine such impropriety when it comes to modern sex research. But there was no example for Kinsey to follow in the 1940s. He was making up — and breaking — the rules as he went along.

Surveying and interviewing continues to be a popular mode of sex research. The Kinsey Institute at the University of Indiana Bloomington still uses it. The 2010 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior also utilized random dialing and physical mailers to connect with possible respondents while a more recent survey by the university has been posted online.  

The Internet presents an opportunity to easily collect information en masse and with identity protection (when that's desired). It's a hell of a lot easier to reach thousands or millions of people by posting surveys online rather than a physical bulletin board. You can find a list of surveys and studies that you might be eligible to participate in on Dr. Lehmiller's site. I've shared similar links with my readers, positive that y'all would be as excited to be part of history as I am.

One of the downfalls of self-reporting (whether it's done in person or over the Internet) is whether a respondent is being honest, both to themselves and to the survey. Furthermore, the way that questions are worded can leave a lot of room for ambiguity. Surveys presented by reputable institutions — I'm looking at you Bloomington — are often quite thoughtful in this regard. I imagine that the more ambiguity, the more likely some survey responses will have to be thrown out.

Despite the pitfalls of relying on someone's self-reporting, it's important to understand how a person feels, especially when it comes to arousal. Thanks to studies that have compared women's' reported arousal to their physical arousal, we have a much better understanding of the arousal discordance that is more commonly found in women than with men.

Researchers will connect subjects to devices that measure

  • pupil dilation, which can be an indication of arousal
  • heart rate can be measured with an electrocardiograph (EKG) like Masters and Johnson used
  • erection via penile strain gauges that measure the circumference of the shaft
  • vaginal pulse with the help of a probe known as a vaginal photoplethysmograph 
  • genital thermometers
  • brain activity with the aid of fMRIs that scan for real-time changes or an electroencephalograph (EEG) that measures electricity
  • skin conductance, which occurs when patients sweat during arousal and stimulation. Electrodes are the old standby for this method
  • penis volume through the use of a cuff filled with air (or water) that would become displaced as a subject became erect
  • penile rigidity with a device that attaches to the base of the shaft and just below the head of the penis

Often, researchers hook up patients to these devices and show them sexually explicit images or videos. Yes, buying porn might be on the docket if you're a sex researcher. Patients might be advised to masturbate or engage in sexual activity with a partner.

Sometimes, if you want to know more about sex, you just have to do it yourself. That's what author Mary Roach did when she was writing "Bonk." She volunteered herself — and her husband Ed — as subjects of a 4D ultrasound. The author and her husband engaged in sex while a researcher passed an ultrasound wand over their bodies, briefly resting his arm against her Ed's body. The pair would hold still momentarily to achieve still images, and the scientist instructed Ed to ejaculate.

Mary Roach and her husband may be lucky — or unlucky if you prefer — to be alive. Researchers have used cadavers for some studies, especially those regarding the G-spot. 

Several of these cadaver studies have been critiqued for being too small a sample size. That argument has also been made against other sex studies, which may only involve a handful of subjects. The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior is among the largest ever, recording responses from nearly 6,000 people. 

Few of these studies have been replicated, so it's important to remember that the results give us a glimpse but not the whole picture.

One interesting factor is how the language used in these studies has changed. Whereas it once was more clinical and heteronormative, language has become depathologized. It's more common to see "man" or "woman" in place of "male" or "female." The same goes for sexual orientations and subjects. Interestingly, the concept of consent is more frequently referenced in modern sex research. Mentions of HIV is on the rise (and AIDS decreasing), as it the term MSM, which stands for men who have sex with men.

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Science of Sex: Habituation of Sexual Arousal (The Coolidge Effect)

February 24th, 2018

Welcome to the Science of Sex, a feature I've managed to publish on Of Sex and Love for a whole year (albeit not necessarily when I promise to). In this monthly segment, I discuss the science of sexuality in an easy-to-digest format that’s accessible to the casual reader. I will also follow up with some extended reading material for people who want to know more about the subject of each post.

Today's post explains why it's harder to feel aroused by your partner after you've been together for a long period.

Check back every second Saturday of the month (ish) for new Science of Sex posts.

Enjoy!

The so-called Coolidge Effect is a biological occurrence wherein a member of a certain species will experience renewed sexual vigor when a new potential mate enters the picture. In short, even an exhausted male will suddenly be ready to mate if a new female enters.

The Coolidge Effect is apparently named after president Coolidge, who'd had a discussion with his wife about a Rooster's prowess upon visiting a farm. When FLOTUS inquired into the rooster's sexual ability, POTUS apparently remarked upon the number of hens available.

Research indicates that several species experience the Coolidge Effect.  It can also occur in females, but the effect is heightened with males of a species. It may take longer for habituation to effect a woman's sexual respond than a man's. The research is currently conflicting.

Humans are definitely not immune to this, and it doesn't just apply to sexual activity. The Coolidge Effect explains why arousal increases when new stimuli (women) enter the picture. One study examined men's' arousal when exposes to the same stimulus as compared to arousal levels when the men experience more various stimuli.

Similarly, men who repeatedly view porn of the same actress will experience faster ejaculation, and the sperm contained in the ejaculate may actually be healthier!

The term for getting used to the same sexual stimulus is known as habituation, and it's exactly why people grow to need novelty in long-term sexual relationships. It strikes me that the Coolidge Effect can even explain why someone who has new sexual partners, consensually or otherwise, might experience renewed desire for their original partner.

Habituation of sexual arousal is worth looking into deeper. Researchers have found that while genital response will decrease to repeating the same stimulus, people can still subjectively feel aroused. Scientists were especially surprised to learn that this happens in men because men often feel mentally and genitally aroused simultaneously than women (concordance).

The proposed explanation for the Coolidge Effect is the same for many sexual theories. A male of the species will be able to produce more offspring if his desire can be triggered by multiple partners and quickly after new potential partners become available.

What does all this mean? If you've had sex with the same person for quite some time, especially if it's the same sort of sex, arousal might dip. Enter a new, attractive person, and you'll find yourself desiring sex again. Keeping things novel is one way to ward off the Coolidge Effect and minimize habituation, but it doesn't mean that something's inherently wrong with your relationship.  

Habituation may not be permanent, either. In at least one study, men found that desire again increased after a period of time.

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Science of Sex: Physiology of Orgasm

January 20th, 2018

Welcome to the eleventh! installment in a feature on Of Sex and Love: Science of Sex. In this monthly segment, I discuss the science of sexuality in an easy-to-digest format that’s accessible to the casual reader. I will also follow up with some extended reading material for people who want to know more about the subject of each post.

It’s hard to follow up last month’s Science of Sex post, in which I lauded over a dozen women who have worked to study sex and educate the world about sexuality, But the second Saturday of this month has already passed. I had better get on it!

So I thought I’d discuss some of the physiological changes that occur during and after orgasm, changes that researchers have used to determine whether orgasm has occurred and help to explain some of the benefits of orgasm from sex or masturbation. This will more or less be a list of the changes in the body and brain due to orgasm.

Enjoy!

Physiology of Orgasm

Much of the research into orgasm and physiological changes has focused on women, perhaps because ejaculation makes it easier to determine when a man has had an orgasm. Researchers compare measurements with self-reports of orgasm.

Traditionally, heart rate has been measured to determine if orgasm has occurred, and both vaginal and clitoral orgasms increase heart rate. More intense orgasms may lead to greater increases in heart rate.

Although many of these studies focus on women, few of them have involves fMRIs. One study did look at the female brain during orgasm, finding that activity increased in several areas: sensory, motor, reward, frontal cortical, and brainstem regions. Another test found that men experience increased blood flow in several brain areas after orgasm: the visual cortex, ventral tegmental area (VTA), and ventrolateral thalamus. Blood flow decreased to the prefrontal cortex, however. In patients with epilepsy, the temporal lobe becomes essential for achieving orgasm.

EEGs have previously been used to look at brain activity during orgasm. In one study, participants masturbated to orgasm, and EEG results showed changes in brain laterality. Typically, activity increased significantly in the right hemisphere with smaller increases in the left hemisphere. Interestingly, one left-handed participant exhibited the opposite change in laterality.

Contraction of the PC muscles is another method of determining orgasm, and research has found that rectal pressure is a reliable indicator of orgasm in healthy women. Anal contractions also indicate orgasm in men.

Various chemicals and hormones increase after orgasm. Catecholamines, which include epinephrine, (adrenaline) norepinephrine, and dopamine increase in the body. Prolactin, the protein that helps female mammals breastfeed, increases because of orgasm, even in men. This may help regular sex drive after orgasm.

Men who experienced orgasm after a period of orgasmic inactivity may see an increase in testosterone in their systems after resuming masturbation.

Researchers have found that endocannabinoid levels, specifically endocannabinoid 2-AG, increase in both men and women after orgasm. You may be more familiar with endocannabinoids as they relate to marijuana. Because pot contains a chemical similar to endocannabinoid, THC, it activates the endocannabinoid system. Endocannabinoids help to regulate mood, sleep, pain, and pleasure/rewards, among other functions. Increased endocannabinoids 2-AG after orgasm may help to explain boost to mood, improved sleep and decreased pain perception.

Finally, orgasm can produce behaviors and experiences that you wouldn’t typically consider to be related to sexuality, several of which I have experienced myself. One study combined the phenomena from various case studies, cataloging the following phenomena;

cataplexy (weakness), crying, dysorgasmia, dysphoria, facial and/or ear pain, foot pain, headache, pruritus [itching of the skin], laughter, panic attack, post-orgasm illness syndrome, seizures, and sneezing.

With the profound effect that orgasm has on a person’s physiology, the vast array of effects aren’t really so surprising.

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Image © MisterUnlucky; used with permission.