As early as the 1960's, Masters and Johnson's daring study described, physiologically, the bodily changes observed during the different stages of sexual activity, including that of orgasm. These scientists opened the way to a new field of study: the physiology of sexuality. Orgasms are then defined by physiologists as a physical and emotional experience occurring during sexual activity. The orgasmic phase is usually accompanied by rhythmic contractions of the pelvic floor muscles and organs. Nowadays, this orgasmic experience is studied by a multitude of scientists. It can be approached from different angles: evolutionary biology, psychology, neurosciences or social sciences. On the one hand, in light of the fact that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Dobzhansky, 1973), evolutionists try to find an adaptive function to orgasm. On the other hand, some psychology researchers describe the experience as an alteration in levels of consciousness similar to that found during a meditative practice (Ellero, 2019). As for the social sciences, we can credit them with the discovery of the orgasm gap and the gender gap (Mahar et al., 2020). Neuroscientists, for their part, question the neurobiological and neurochemical components of orgasm: it is this precise aspect that this review will focus on. What happens in our brain when we experience orgasm? For example, Marcallee and Marson investigated whether people with spinal cord injuries could still experience the climax. The results appear to be mixed, but it would seem that the brain does play a role in the orgasmic phase. Ejaculation and orgasm seem to be two distinct physiological phenomena: the first is controlled by a reflex loop in the spinal cord and the other by the brain. Other researchers have been able to specify the areas of the brain that are activated during orgasmic phases. Orgasm is the result of a succession of activations and inhibitions of several areas that control sexual arousal, muscle contractions, behavioral inhibition, gratification and vigilance. What about post-orgasmic ecstasy? Where does this incomparable feeling of relief and well-being come from? A cocktail of neurotransmitters (mainly dopamine) comes into play during orgasm. Another famous neuropeptide is also found in large quantities in the blood of people who have just had an orgasm, oxytocin. It is therefore these neurotransmitters that would pair the feeling of reward and pleasure with orgasm, comparable to that felt when taking drugs. This review therefore provides the latest neuroscientific data on the orgasmic phase of the physiological sexual response.
Recension · Orgasms and neuroscience
16 March 2023
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physiological sexual response, orgasm, sexual arousal, sexual satisfaction, auto-stimulation, neurochemistry, spinal cord injury, pleasure, oxytocin, dopamine
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