Scientists are slowly unraveling the complex fabric of the female orgasm. The last eighty years has seen a continuous stream of studies in an area of life that is quite difficult to study.
Recent studies give a glimpse of the multiple layers of psychology that contribute to the success, or failure, of a woman’s sexual pleasure. In one study, Neuroscientist Gert Holstege of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands studied males and females who were aroused to orgasm by their partners while their brains were scanned by a PET scanner.
The males had a predictable elevation of the pleasure centers of the brain but the females had a very complicated response involving centers of the brain having to do with personal safety and social responsibility as well as elevated pleasure centers.
A few points revealed by recent research:
While there may be women who respond to danger by getting sexually excited, most women need the safety of a relationship with their partner. Women are also known for their ability to multitask but the level of stress that many women suffer while juggling multiple duties can keep them from feeling like they have the time to relax their self-control and moral judgment. These women will have a level of inner conflict that will interfere with their having a rewarding sexual experience.
Modern life seems to be a formula for disaster when it comes to a woman’s orgasm. Since some women are able to turn off the stress and “let themselves go” so they can really enjoy sex, other women see in their own inability another excuse to beat themselves up.
Sexual partners should be open about discussing the spiritual and emotional aspects of their relationship and look for ways to arrange a situation where a woman can get her needs met.
Recent studies give a glimpse of the multiple layers of psychology that contribute to the success, or failure, of a woman’s sexual pleasure. In one study, Neuroscientist Gert Holstege of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands studied males and females who were aroused to orgasm by their partners while their brains were scanned by a PET scanner.
The males had a predictable elevation of the pleasure centers of the brain but the females had a very complicated response involving centers of the brain having to do with personal safety and social responsibility as well as elevated pleasure centers.
A few points revealed by recent research:
- There appears to be a cycle in an ideal orgasmic experience, desire, physical excitation, a plateau of sustained arousal, a orgasmic release, and a resolution. A successful orgasm and resolution can lead to desire which repeats the cycle.
- Desire is a necessary starting point for both sexes. A lack of desire may not prevent sex from actually occurring but it will reduce the pleasure in the remaining phases.
- Sexual desire and satisfaction have more to do with mental processes that physical processes.
- Both sexes respond to visual stimulation, but women respond to many types of visual stimulation whereas men respond mostly to stimulation that matches their sexual orientation. This surprising result was found by monitoring genital blood flow while both sexes watched pornography. By the way, the women denied being stimulated by the images.
- For orgasm to occur, both sexes require that some centers in the brain shutdown, however in women many more parts of the brain must quiet down. During a female orgasm, large areas of the brain that control vigilance, self-control, moral reasoning and judgment go silent. Other centers of pleasure and emotion are aroused. Levels of oxytocin, a love and bonding hormone, can quadruple.
While there may be women who respond to danger by getting sexually excited, most women need the safety of a relationship with their partner. Women are also known for their ability to multitask but the level of stress that many women suffer while juggling multiple duties can keep them from feeling like they have the time to relax their self-control and moral judgment. These women will have a level of inner conflict that will interfere with their having a rewarding sexual experience.
Modern life seems to be a formula for disaster when it comes to a woman’s orgasm. Since some women are able to turn off the stress and “let themselves go” so they can really enjoy sex, other women see in their own inability another excuse to beat themselves up.
Sexual partners should be open about discussing the spiritual and emotional aspects of their relationship and look for ways to arrange a situation where a woman can get her needs met.
