{"id":56406,"date":"2021-12-24T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T19:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56406"},"modified":"2021-12-27T16:59:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T20:59:42","slug":"brain-orgasm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/brain-orgasm\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Brain During an Orgasm: Behind the Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What happens in your brain during an orgasm? Does the brain even register orgasms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a common misconception that orgasms are primarily a genital response. In reality, orgasms are really about what happens inside the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn about your brain and orgasms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Our Brains During Orgasm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By using fMRI and PET scans to measure the blood flow and neuron activity of individuals experiencing orgasm, scientists have been able to observe what happens in the brain during this climactic experience<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, multiple remote brain regions<\/a> activate during orgasm, including the genital sensory cortex, motor areas, hypothalamus, thalamus, and substantia nigra. Specifically, the genital sensory cortex registers sensation in the genitals, the motor areas govern the body\u2019s movement, the hypothalamus and substantia nigra produce hormones, and the thalamus helps bring together information related to senses, movement, memories, or fantasies that might be useful in reaching orgasm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for reason, decision making<\/a>, and value judgments, becomes less active. Scientists say that one reason for this is to decrease fear and anxiety, which inhibit sexual response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During an orgasm, the brain also releases a variety of hormones and neurochemicals that promote enjoyment, bonding, pain reduction, and relaxation, such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins, and vasopressin. This is why we experience things like intense pleasure, closeness with our partner, lower sensitivity to pain, and a sense of calm after sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Our Brains Process Expectations vs. Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

However, in more specific terms, Nagoski says that orgasm difficulties arise from the way our brains process the gap between our expectations and reality<\/strong>, which our culture\u2019s tendency to set the bar unreasonably high worsens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagoski explains that our brains constantly evaluate our surroundings, making comparisons between the expectations we\u2019ve developed based on our experiences and what\u2019s actually happening. When our expectations don\u2019t match up with reality, we try to close the gap by setting a goal to bring them back into alignment. Nagoski adds that when we think we\u2019re making good progress toward that goal, we remain happy and motivated. But when we don\u2019t see good progress, we become frustrated and increasingly desperate to close the gap, until we eventually give up in despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of orgasms, the process Nagoski describes looks like this: Society has given you the expectation that you should be able to have an orgasm from vaginal penetration, but you find yourself unable to do so. Your brain notices this gap between your expectation and reality<\/a>, and so you become determined to \u201cfix\u201d reality by continuing to try to have an orgasm this way. When it doesn\u2019t work, you become increasingly anxious, which activates the SIS. Ultimately, this makes trying to have an orgasm even more difficult than before, creating a continuous cycle of frustration and anxiety that eventually ends with you giving up on having one altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Our Expectations Influence Our Judgments<\/strong>

In her discussion of how our brain compares our present surroundings to our set of expectations, Nagoski doesn\u2019t go into detail about exactly how this process works. However, learning more about how our brain processes information can enhance our understanding of how we interpret what\u2019s happening to us, including our experience of sex.

Over time, we come to develop many different expectations based on a wide range of experiences. Exactly which expectations we use to judge a given situation, however, depends on many different factors<\/a>. One of these factors is that we tend to base our judgments on the stored information that\u2019s most accessible to us. What\u2019s most accessible at any given time is determined both by what\u2019s important to us as individuals and by what we\u2019ve been recently or frequently exposed to. Unfortunately, because certain information comes to mind more easily than anything else, it has the potential to influence our judgment\u2014even when it\u2019s counterfactual<\/a>.

We can imagine, then, how this bias may affect our sexual experience. If society constantly tells us that we should be able to have an orgasm from vaginal penetration, that information will become more accessible. Furthermore, because our brain is wired to privilege accessible information, we\u2019re likely to convince ourselves that we should be able to have this type of orgasm, regardless of what the truth may be. And ultimately, we\u2019ll become frustrated and blame ourselves<\/em> when it doesn\u2019t work out in the way we expected\u2014all because of our brain\u2019s inherent bias. This leads to the type of negative feelings that activate our SIS and inhibit orgasm, making it even less likely we\u2019ll live up to society\u2019s expectations.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens in your brain during an orgasm? Does the brain even register orgasms? There is a common misconception that orgasms are primarily a genital response. In reality, orgasms are really about what happens inside the brain. Keep reading to learn about your brain and orgasms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":22993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,160],"tags":[548],"class_list":["post-56406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-science","tag-come-as-you-are","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nYour Brain During an Orgasm: Behind the Scenes - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What happens in your brain during an orgasm? Does the brain even register orgasms? 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