Chapter 16
Biochemistry of Sex and Love
 Limbic System
 Origin of emotion, drives, desires, impulses
 Older, more primitive part of the brain beneath the
rational neocortex
 Where that blissful feeling of love (including sex and
desire) is produced by a complex cocktail of
neurotransmitters, hormones, and other chemicals in
our brain
Dopamine: dose of feel good
 The mega hormone that activates, or “turns on”, your
reward and pleasure centers
 Released when we engage in behaviors that further our
survival (involved in every craving, obsession,
compulsion, or addiction)
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Sex- especially new partner or novel/different/unique aspect
Food- bigger blast from eating high-calorie than low-calorie
Taking risks
Achieving goals
So, you’re not really craving the cake, winning black-jack
hand, mind-blowing sex; you’re really craving the dopamine
released with these activities
Dopamine cont.
 All addictions increase dopamine’s euphoric effect:
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Money
Sexual fetishes
Shopping
Gambling
 When dopamine is deficient the opposite results:
 Depression
 Lack of ambition
 Low libido
 Sleep problems
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Orgasm is the biggest blast of dopamine naturally available to us
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Scientific studies show that the patterns in the orgasmic brain resemble those produced in a
heroin rush
Orgasm and addiction have one thing in common; an initial pleasurable experience followed
by a come down or hangover- your body’s natural response to homeostasis or balance
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Prolactin:
the chemical released after orgasm to bring homeostasis; biology’s way
to stop us from obsessively having sex (etc.) It helps us to focus our attention elsewhere.
 Anti-stress/relaxation hormone responsible for blissful
states similar to meditation; can stay in bloodstream
for days (study done with rats-up to14 days)
 Symptoms of elevated prolactin levels; decreased sex
drive, weight gain, depressed mood, hostility
 Couples may misinterpret this post-orgasmic “hangover”
as a loss of interest in each other; for example, this
“coming down” effect may make him irritable and he
might interpret her requests as demands; she may feel
needy and interpret his behavior as uncaring.
Surviving the rollercoaster…
 Post-orgasmic comedown is natural, but may also be
responsible for people to “sour” on their partner or to
suddenly find them unattractive, irritating, or
unreasonable; this may happen after the first, or
romantic phase, of a relationship, when the high levels
of dopamine level out and life returns to a more
balanced (realistic) way
 When the dopamine surge declines, a person might
interpret this as a loss of interest; no dopamine=no
interest; new partner= dopamine levels soar and
feelings of anticipation, excitement, aliveness return
Oxytocin: remedy to level to anti-monogamy playing field
 Responsible for feelings of unconditional love,
nurturing, and affection
 Experience of love releases a neurochemical stew of:
 adrenaline (the racing heart)
 Dopamine (the sexual desire and craving)
 Oxytocin ( the warm, loving, “gushy” feelings
responsible for bonding) released through affection,
without orgasm; hugging, kissing, caressing
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Reduces cravings, calms, promotes feelings of well-being,
increases longevity, and speeds healing, eases depression by
decreasing cortisol (a stress hormone which is a factor in
depression and anxiety)
Atypical sexual behaviors
 Paraphilia: uncommon types of sexual expression; “beyond usual
or typical love”
 Often reveals a pattern of conditioning, when a particular
behavior was reinforced with arousal and orgasm
 Atypical behaviors, naturally exist on a continuum, ranging in
mild/infrequently expressed tendencies to full-blown regularly
manifested behaviors. Most reported cases engaging in these
behaviors are male. This may be a cause of biased reporting;
female exhibitionism is far less likely to be reported than for
male.
 Noncoercive verses coercive; the difference between solo or
consensual and violating and illegal (often a minor sex offense if
there isn’t any physical or sexual contact)
Noncoercive Paraphilias
 Fetishism: a sexual behavior in which a person obtains sexual excitement
primarily or exclusively from an inanimate object or a particular part of the body
 Transvestic fetishism: a sexual behavior in which a person derives sexual
arousal from wearing clothing of the other sex
 Sadomasochistic (SM) behavior (or BDSM-bondage-
domination-sadism-masochism) : The association with sexual expression
with pain. Kinsey study showed 22% of men and 12% of women responded
erotically to stories with SM themes. Another study showed 25% of men and women
report engaging in some forms of SM.
 Sexual sadism: The act of obtaining sexual arousal through giving physical and
psychological pain
 Sexual masochism: The act of obtaining sexual arousal through receiving
physical or psychological pain; a staged encounter of being whipped, cut, pierced
with needles, bound, or spanked. Only paraphilia that is expressed by women with
some frequency.
Other noncoercive paraphilia…
 Autoerotic asphyxia: rare and life threatening- The
enhancement of sexual excitement and orgasm by
pressure-induced oxygen deprevation
 Klismaphilia: individuals receive sexual pleasure from
receiving enemas
 Coprophilia: person obtains sexual arousal from
contact with feces
 Urophilia: person obtains sexual arousal from contact
with urine
Coercive paraphilias
 Exhibitionism: the act of exposing one’s genitals to an
unwilling observer
 Obscene phone calls: typically experience sexual
arousal when their victims react in a horrified or
shocked manner. Callers are typically male and suffer
from pervasive feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.
Obscene phone call are frequently the only way they
can find to have sexual exchanges.
 Voyeurism: the act of obtaining sexual gratification by
observing undressed or sexually interacting people
without their consent
Coercive cont.
 Frotteurism: a fairly common paraphilia in which a person obtains a sexual
pleasure by pressing or rubbing against a person in a crowded place
 Zoophilia: a paraphilia in which a person has sexual contact with animals.
Kinsey research found 8% of men and 4% of women reported having some
sexual experience with animals at some point in their lives. Frequency of
behavior from males were those who were raised on farms, 17% of these men
reported experiencing orgasm as a result. Most common animals involved:
sheep, goats, donkeys, large fowl, dogs, and cats. If a person engages in this
behavior, they are young and it is usually transitory, and they a human partner
may be forbidden or unavailable.
 Necrophilia: a rare sexual paraphilia in which a person obtains sexual
gratification be viewing or having intercourse with a corpse. Always male and
almost always manifest severe emotional disorders, and see themselves as
sexually and socially inept. May both hate and fear women. They may seek
employment in morgues to access bodies or use simulated corpses or hire a
prostitute to mimic being dead (any movement would inhibit their customer’s
sexual arousal.
Sexual Addiction?
 The concept of sexual addiction suggests that some
people who engage in excessive sexual activity are
manifesting symptoms of a psychological addiction, in
which feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and
worthlessness are temporarily relieved through a
sexual high. Feelings of powerlessness over sexual
behavior, resulting in life becoming unmanageable.
 Some sexologists believe that by making this a distinct
diagnostic category would negate individual
responsibility for “uncontrollable” sexual compulsions
that victimize others.
Beyond Vanilla
 Consensual “sexual athletics”
 Most talk about the importance of trust and ability to
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let go and feel safe
Negotiate “scenes”
Many talk positively about the “rush of pain”
One participant encourages people to “admit what gets
your dick hard. Admit it and do it.”
Because it gets you off, is it good for you?