Sex, Drugs and
Love: A Few Good
Altered States
Group 10:
Keren Alon, Alexander
Fields, Dean Martinez and
Hayden Rausch
The Neural Basis of Sex
as an Altered State
Hormones
Hormones
 Testosterone: plays a role in desire
and arousal.
 Estrogens: no apparent direct role
in arousal. However, loss of
estrogens impairs physiological
arousal response in females.
 Prolactin: high or low levels inhibit
sexual response.
Hormones Continued
 Oxytocin: Plays a role in maternal
behaviors. Facilitates physiological
and psychological sexual arousal.
 Pheromones: volatile signaling
substances secreted from glands.
Thought to be sensed in the
Vomeronasal organ. May have role
in female reproductive cycle
synchrony. May also facilitate
sexual behavior.
Begin
Neurotransmission
End Neurotransmission
Neurotransmitters
 Nitric Oxide (NO)
 Key player in clitoral and penile erection
through the NO/guanylate cyclase/GTP/cGMP
pathway (Viagra works on the cGMP component).
 Serotonin
 Depending on receptor type can facilitate or
inhibit sexual behavior.
 Approximately 95% of 5-HT receptors are
peripheral (including the vascular smooth
muscle of the genitals).
 Possible locus for the sexual side effects
brought on by SSRIs.
More
Neurotransmission
 Dopamine
 Seems to facilitate sexual feelings
and behaviors
 Cocaine often reported to
increase sexual enjoyment.
Chronic use impairs sexual
function.
Still Neurotransmitting
 Epinephrine
 Plays a role in the maintaining
detumescence in males
 Plasma levels have been shown to
increase with arousal, peak at orgasm,
and return to baseline within a few
minutes post-climax (in females).
 Norepinephrine has similar effects.
End Neurotransmission
 Opioids
 May modulate levels of hormones
released, leading to changes in
arousal.
 In male animals opioid levels
increase during sexual activity.
 Chronic opiate use causes sexual
dysfunction.
Spinal Control of Sex
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Some sexual functions
are under spinal control.
Women with spinal injury
are still able to achieve
orgasm.
Ejaculation is
controlled through the
Spinal Ejaculation
Generator.
 Located in the
lumbosacral spine.
 Receives sensory input
from the penis, and
some input from
supraspinal nuclei.
 Ejaculation reflex
present even in men
with spinal injury.
Sex and Supraspinal
Areas
 Nucleus
Paragigantocellularis in the Locus
Coereleus.
 Serotonergic
projections to
spinal efferents
 May be responsible
for inhibiting sexual
response.
Sex and Supraspinal
Areas
 Hypothalamus
 Medial Preoptic Area: involved in mate
selection and recognition. Lesions
abolish only copulatory behavior.
 Paraventricular Nucleus: Causes
release of oxytocin during sexual
activity. Also has projections to pelvic
autonomic and somatic efferents.
Heavily connected with medial preoptic.
Sex and the Supraspinal
Regions
 Forebrain Regions: Medial
Amygdala and Bed Nucleus of
Stria Terminalis
 Strongly activated during
copulation.
 May control sexual motivation.
rCBF Changes Associated with
Clitorally Induced Orgasm in
Healthy Women
 Georgiadis, et al. 2006.
 PET study, scans performed under
four conditions: rest, clitoral
stimulation or arousal, orgasm
imitations (motor control), and
orgasm.
 Decreased activity in prefrontal
cortex as arousal increases and
peaks with orgasm.
Sex and Consciousness
 Is sex an altered state?
 There’s a good chance
 Prefrontal deactivation during
orgasm
 Dietrich’s ladder model.
The Rewards of
“Healthy” Drug
Addiction
Introduction
 Drug addiction is
one of the most
costly diseases in
modern society
 Passionate love
closely imitates
substance abuse
 Uses the same
reward system in
the brain
Introduction Cont’d
 Consciousness
altering drugs have
multiple effects
 The effect of the drug
depends on the amount
of dosage the
individual has taken
 Also the effects of a
psychoactive drug
depends on the user’s
history and
expectations
Effects on
Consciousness



Drugs vary in how they
affect behavior and
consciousness
Different types such as
stimulants, depressants,
hallucinogens, and other
types of drugs such as
marijuana and morphine
Psychoactive drugs have
a variety of effects in
various functions, also
they do not create new
responses, just modify
behavioral and
physiological responses
Drugs
 Drugs are used to
induce feeling of
euphoria, a “high”
 The
neurotransmitter
associated with
drug addiction and
abuse is dopamine,
along with other
NTs such as
serotonin, and
GABA
The Drug Reward System
 Activated by rewarding
stimulus i.e. sex
 Coe structures of the
reward system is
located in the limbic
system
 Consists of several
brain structures: VTA,
nucleus accumbens,
and the prefrontal
cortex
 VTA -> Nuc Accumbens ->
PFC
Dopamine
 Dopamine
- Most directly implicated in positive
reinforcement, i.e. rewarding and
pleasurable effects of the drug
- Many addictive drugs enhance
dopamine transmission, specifically in the
mesocorticolimbic system
- One of the main forces driving the
reward system
Other
Neurotransmitters
 Serotonin
 Involved in the modulation of both drug
self-administration and dopamine levels
 May be important in modulating
motivational factors of obtaining a drug
 Serotonin projects to the NA and the
VTA to regulate release of dopamine
 It also modulates the reward pathway
through various mechanisms by
interacting with different receptors in
the brain

Other
Neurotransmitters
cont’d
GABA
 Involved in modulation of the dopaminergic
reward system
 Disinhibits dopaminergic neurons making them
fire more rapidly and releasing more dopamine in
the reward system to induce euphoria
 Endorphins
 Also motivate behavior
 Place preference is elicited when applied in the
NA
 Also increases dopamine in the reward pathway
Love as an ASC
Helen Fisher’s Recent
Study Journal of
Neuroscience
 -Analyzed about 2,500


brain images from 17
college students who
were in first
weeks/months of new
love
-Students looked at a
picture of their beloved
while an M.R.I machine
scanned their brains.
-Researchers then
compared the images with
others taken while the
students looked at a
picture of an
acquaintance.
 -The images showed
hot spots in the
brain, below
conscious
awareness.
 -Areas called the
caudate nucleus
and the ventral
tegmental area
 -These areas are
dense with cells
that produce or
receive the brain
chemical Dopamine.
Dopamine and Love
 -When a person feels in love, they activate their

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pleasure centers in the brain which are rich in
dopamine
-Dopamine causes a person’s heart to race, pupils to
dilate and a slight perspire.
-Since it is a natural endorphin (acts like heroin or
morphine) it causes the body to respond by relaxing
the body and kills pain in high doses.
-Also a hormone involved with addictive behavior
and OCD
-It is the hormone that makes a person feel an
“erotic high” when they see their lover, eventually
the person will become addicted to feeling that
“erotic high”
-Also, when there is a continued presence of a
lover, there is a gradual increase of dopamine
b-Phenylethylamine (PEA) or
the "love chemical"
 -Falling in love involves the enhanced
secretion of PEA in the first 2-4 years of
the relationship
 -This natural drug creates a euphoric high
and helps obscure the failings and
shortcomings of the potential mate.
 -High levels of PEA increases sex drive and
is thought to be the hormone of libido.
 -The body as becomes tolerant of PEA like
dopamine once the body has been exposed
to it for long periods of time.
Oxytocin, the “cuddling
chemical”
 -Hormone involved with love, also an endorphin and
has an opiate-like effect
 “Produced by the brain, it sensitized nerves and
stimulates muscle contraction. Scientists
speculate that oxytocin might encourage cuddling
between adult women and men.”
 -Acts as a natural tranquilizer, allows for women
to become more sensitive to other’s feelings.
 -Released during sexual experiences as well as
when lovers touch because it activates cellsurface proteins in the nucleus accumbens, which
causes release of dopamine---> Euphoric high
Behavior Changes
Associated with Love
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-Love allows for
companionship, which gives a
person gratification and a
feeling of purpose in life
-When people first fall in
love, they experience feeling
giddy, playful, and are
preoccupied with thoughts
of the one they love
-Disinhibition: physical and
intimate
(-->Lack of normal conc)
-Love creates and reinforces
the self. People's sense of
who they are is strongly
affected by whom they love
and whom they perceive as
loving them.”
More Behavioral
Changes…
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-When people are in love they
feel that they must protect the
one they love and will do
anything for the one they love.
-Priorities shift and motivation is
centered around that person
versus other responsibilities
-Obsessive thoughts regarding
the loved one and compulsive
acts are common. (similar to
behaviors of drug addicts)
-Lover becomes salient in
everyday occurrences
-Primed to think of that person,
things that you ordinarily
wouldn’t pay attention to
suddenly make you think of your
loved one (similar t-shirt, etc.)
Is Love an Addiction?


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-When one is in love, the
pleasure parts of the brain
are activated by hormones
(dopamine, PEA and oxytocin)
which act as natural
endorphins. They act like
amphetamines do on the
brain.
-The longer a couple is
together their brains become
tolerant to the hormones
being released, which causes
the euphoric feeling not to
be felt as strongly.
-Allostasis: body adjusts to
new state
-Similar to tolerating drugs
Withdrawal Phase
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
-Because of this acquired
tolerance, when the couple
breaks up, there must be a
withdrawal period.
-The withdrawal of romantic love
has serious mental health
repercussions.
-A study revealed that breakups
often lead to depression and
anxiety. fMRI-based studies
demonstrated how the insular
cortex, in charge of experiencing
pain, became active when subjects
viewed photos of former loved
ones.
-Symptoms similar to to being
addicted to drugs, so people who
think they are addicted to love,
might really be addicted to the
feelings and hormones released
during love.
So is love an ASC?
Yes!

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-The combination of
hormonal and behavioral
changes, along with the
overall change of one’s
perception results in a
divergence from normal
consciousness.
-Body adjusts to new
state and becomes
dependent on their lover.
-Areas of the brain
undergo change similar
to exposure to drugs.
-Hence, if being addicted
to drugs is considered an
ASC, so should being in
love.
Behavioral Correlations
Between Sex, Love & Drugs
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Attentional/Focus Shift
Searching/Wanting
Preoccupation
Restlessness
Excessive Wakefulness/Sleepiness
Climactic Arousal
Ignoring Negative Effects/Behaviors
Withdrawal:
Depression/Angst/Anxiety
 Fantasy
 Stress
Similarities
 Neuroimaging
shows the PFC,
VTA, and the
caudate are active
when in love and
using drugs
 Dopamine and
Norepinephrine are
very much involved
in both processes
Pleasure and Reward
Systems
 Control our sexual behavior
 Reward system may have evolved
to get animals interested in sex
 Sex around longer than drugs
 Limbic area
 VTA
 Caudate Nucleus
 DA system
Drug Highs Can Be
Like Sex Highs
“Stimulants like cocaine act on the
brain's dopamine system, and so mimic the
thrill of desire and anticipation.
Depressant drugs like heroin, on the
other hand, produce the opposite kind
of pleasure - a dreamy satiation and
freedom from pain, caused by their
action on the brain's opioid system.
A speedball,
a cocktail of cocaine and heroin, can be
likened to a rapid, hyped-up sex
simulation, moving rapidly from desire
to climax.”Maia Szalavitz, “Love is the drug”, 23 November
2002 , New Scientist Magazine
Is love an equal state as
sex or lust?
 Brains in love and brains in
lust don't look too much
alike.
 when researchers showed
erotic photos to people as
they underwent brain
scans, they found activity
in the hypothalamus and
amygdala areas of the brain
 Different areas than “in
love’s” reward center
 the two do become linked.
People in love have
elevated levels of
dopamine. Lots of dopamine,
in turn, triggers the
production of
testosterone
Is love a continuous state
over time? No.
 Over time, love related activity in the
reward center returns to normal
 Meanwhile, other areas become
active
 Emotion areas, like insula and
anterior cingulate cortex, where
sown to be active in similar studies
with long-term (2+ years)
relationship subjects
 Changing state?
Final Thoughts
 PFC is shut down during peak of sex
disabling the highest level of Dietrich's
hierarchy of consciousness.
 When you fall in love, the same system
becomes active as when you take cocaine
 The systems that are built into us to find
food and water are the things that were
also active when kings renounced their
thrones or people turn their backs on
their friends and family all in the name of
love
References
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Esch, Tobias and Stefano, George. The Neurobiology of Love.
Neuroendocrinology Letters. 2005; 26 (3): 175-192.
Fisher, Helen, et al. Defining the Brain Systems of Lust,
Romantic Attraction, and Attachment. Archives of Sexual
Behavior. 2002 (31, 5): 413-419.
Bartels, Andreas and Zeki, Semir. The Neural Correlates of
Maternal and Romantic Love. NeuroImage 21 (2004) 1155-1166.
Aron, Arthur, et al. Reward, Motivation, and Emotion Systems
Associated With Early-Stage Intense Romantic Love. Journal of
Neurophysiology. 2005 (94): 327-337.
Chiba, Andrea. “Reward and Drug Addiction.” University of
California, San Diego. 8 May 2007.
Wallace, Ben, et al. Consciousness and Behavior. (Prospect
Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2003), 44-50.
Neuroanatomy and Physiology of Brain Reward II.
http://ibgwww.colorado.edu/cadd/a_drug/essays/essay4.htm.
Accessed 1 June 2007.
References Continued
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Georgiadis, Janniko, et al. Regional Cerebral Blood Flow
Changes Associated with Clitorally Induced Orgasm in Healthy
Women. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2006 (24): 3305
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3316.
Allard, Julen, et al. Spinal Cord Control of Ejaculation.
World Journal of Urology. 2005 (23): 119-126.
McKenna, Kevin. The Neurophysiology of Female Sexual
Function. World Journal of Urology. 2002 (20): 93-100.
Pfaus, James. Neurobiology of Sexual Behavior. Current
Opinion in Neurobiology. 1999 (9): 751-758.
Meston, Cindy, and Frohlich, Penny. The Neurobiology of Sexual
Function. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2000 (57): 1012-1030.