It's something many women have asked during passionate moments in bed.
What happens in a man's brain during sex?
Now, scientists may have found the answer, after analyzing mouse brain activity during mating.
Their analysis shows that a "complex dance" involving two chemicals takes place in the male brain during sex.
And it is this dance that controls the progression of sex, leading up to ejaculation.
While this study only involved mice, the researchers point out that the brain regions and neurotransmitter systems involved in sexual function are similar in men.
And in the future, the results could open up the possibility of treating men with premature ejaculation.
"I believe our study has opened the door to the development of clinical treatments," said Ai Miyasaka, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the study's lead author.
While sexual behavior has been studied extensively before, until now, most research has focused on the initiation of sex.
However, what happens in the brain during the other stages has remained a mystery until now.
This includes intercourse, insertion of the penis into the woman's vagina, and ejaculation.
"Sexual behavior is a complex sequence of events," explained senior author Qinghua Liu from the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing.
In their new study, the researchers studied male rat brain activity throughout the entire series of actions involved in sex.
The team injected fluorescent sensors into the nucleus accumbens – the brain region that plays a role in reward.
An optic fiber will fire if the brain releases dopamine – a chemical often associated with pleasure – and acetylcholine – a neurotransmitter known to regulate dopamine.
The results revealed a complex dance between the two chemicals at each stage.
Before mating, the male rat's brain began releasing acetylcholine "in rhythm."
About six seconds later, the brain also began releasing dopamine.
Then, when the male inserted his penis into the female mouse's vagina, the release of acetylcholine and dopamine changed in time with the mouse's thrusting movements.
Finally, for those men who achieved ejaculation, dopamine release slowed significantly before rapidly increasing during the transition to ejaculation.
"The study revealed the dynamics of how different chemicals work together in the brain to regulate the passage through different stages of male sexual behavior," said Dr. Liu, GazetaExpress reports.
Mice and humans have different sexual behaviors, but the brain regions and neurotransmitters may be similar, according to researchers.
They suggest that this research could offer new clues for treating sexual dysfunction, particularly premature ejaculation, which affects 20 to 30 percent of sexually active men.
"We anticipate that our results will be a starting point for more sophisticated studies regarding the molecular and neural mechanisms regulating ejaculation timing and the possibility of developing new therapies for sexual dysfunctions in humans," they concluded in their study, published in the journal Neuron.
WHAT IS LOVE?
The science of love is a mystery to many people, but scientists have tried to define the phenomenon scientifically.
Many studies from different institutions have revealed that there is some neurological and bio-chemical evidence that accompanies love.
Various brain regions, particularly those associated with reward and motivation, are activated by the thought or presence of a romantic partner.
These include the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and anterior cingulate cortex regions of the brain.
It is thought that activating these areas of the brain can help lower a person's walls.
These areas, when activated, serve to inhibit defensive behavior, reduce anxiety, and increase trust in a new romantic partner.
Bio-chemical responses to love include oxytocin and vasopressin, which are produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland.
This gland is associated with many chemicals that have a range of functions in the human body.
These chemicals serve to enhance the more intense stages of love.
They can also stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain, a chemical associated with happiness.. /GazetaExpress/
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