Scientists from Stanford University in California discovered an area of the brain responsible for sexual interest and pleasure during mating, and with the help of its stimulation, they reduced the recovery of male mice after ejaculation by 400,000 times. Research published in the journal cell.
The researchers focused on the preoptic region of the hypothalamus. Previous research by the authors has shown that in male mice this area of the brain plays an important role in recognizing the sex of a potential sexual partner. A recent experiment has shown that the preoptic region of the hypothalamus controls the physical act of copulation, the pleasure derived from it, and the desire to mate, namely libido.
This area of the brain has a connection with cells of the nuclear bed of the terminal line (BNST), which secrete a peptide called Substance P. The introduction of males significantly increased the sexual activity of animals: they did not mate not only with females, but also with inanimate objects.
Stimulation of the preoptic region also shortened the refractory period, that is, the time it takes for men to fully regain sexual desire and ability after ejaculation by 400,000 times. They usually need about five days, but the mice in the experiment were ready for a new mating within a second of the previous one.
Blocking this region completely eliminated the desire to mate in male mice, even in the absence of danger and in the presence of an excited female ready to mate.
For the experiments, the scientists used adult male mice that did not see females after weaning at about 3 weeks of age. This means that animals’ brain activity and behavior are not shaped by communication with other individuals.
Although this study was done in mice, similar brain structures have been found in other mammals. It probably has an anatomical counterpart in the human brain. In monkeys with human relatives, opening one of the centers where the authors of the new study experimented was found to change the behavior of males during mating.
The results obtained could lead to the creation of drugs that suppress hyperactive sexual desire in men, as well as drugs that increase libido.
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