The Science Of Sex: 5 Must-Know Facts About Your Brain And Desire

"The Science of Romance: Why We Love."

"10 Ways to Have Better Sex, According to Science"

You'll be hard-pressed to open a magazine or go to a news site without seeing headlines like these. Human relationships, desire, love and sex have been written about and rationalized since time immemorial, it's no wonder that modern scientists continually try to dissect their mysteries. But what can our minds really tell us about matters of the heart?

That's exactly what author Kayt Sukel, who has a background in neuroscience, set out to find out. The result was her new book, "Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex and Relationships." Part of her exploratory journey even included being a lab rat for a study on female orgasms -- a study which produced a pretty incredible video of a woman's brain during climax. The experiment involved masturbating to orgasm ... while strapped into an fMRI machine. It may not have been her sexiest moment, but Sukel says she didn't let the circumstances affect her performance.

"My Type-A personality and refusal to accept failure probably helped me along," she said, laughing. "It was kind of a 'Little Engine That Could' moment."

It's hard not to admire that spirit of determination. We had a chance to pick Sukel's brain and find out what women really need to know when it comes to the science of sex.

Slideshow: 5 Things To Know About The Brain, Love, Sex And Desire

Comments

[James Kohl]

09:29 PM on 03/09/2012

Human pheromones, epigenetics, physiology, and the development of animal behavior is our poster presentation available at this URL: http://posters.f1000.com/P1387

Presented at Association for Chemoreception Sciences Annual Meeting 2011, 13 - 17 Apr 2011

Background / Purpose:
We evaluated individual video-taped fifteen-minute interactions of fourteen women with fertile phase levels of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) during a cooperative task. During the task, our male accomplice wore either a standardized androstenol / androsterone mixture diluted in propylene glycol, or just the diluents; with sandalwood odor added to keep him blind to his condition.

Main conclusion:
When he was wearing the mixture compared to when he wore the diluent, women were more likely to make eye contact (t (12) = 3.43, p = 0.01; IRR: r = 0.964, p = 0.01). They also laughed more (t (12) = 5.20, p < 0.01; IRR: r = 0.810, p = 0.01), and they subsequently rated themselves as being more attracted to him (t (12) = 2.786, p = 0.016).

Our results combine the known effects of androstenol on LH and on mood with a likely behavioral affect of androsterone.

[Kay Nicks]

01:10 AM on 01/18/2012

Had to laugh when I read about pheromones. A few months back, one of my married friends had a bottle. Said she tried it, and said it worked too well! She knew a few of us girls were going out the following weekend, so she brought the pheromones spray with her. We all sprayed it on, forgot about it, and went out. The stuff really does work..and not just on men. Women were chattier than usual! It was funny, once we realized why everyone seemed friendlier/chattier than normal.
We have used it since, when going shopping..same thing. Service always seems to be better for some reason! If you decide to try it, just make sure you aren't in one of those,'leave me alone' kind of moods. lol.

[handsomish]

10:29 PM on 01/14/2012

I'm surprised that they didn't mention that it is better with a partner. Or so I've been told.

[leonkurt]

09:06 PM on 01/14/2012

Kardashian Post has all the facts about sex. You knuckle draggers better read and learn.

[leonkurt]

08:56 PM on 01/14/2012

Kardashian Post go away!!!

[Al Schrader]

08:32 PM on 01/14/2012

I don't do it. Nothing good comes of it, it causes over population and starvation, transmittence of disease, broken hearts, scandals, wastes more resources, causes more controversey - nothing good comes from it. Sorry, they can cry all they want, I aint doin it...Al-

[rchamb1203]

10:03 PM on 01/14/2012

ha ha

[Chris Bryan]

07:30 PM on 01/14/2012

I don't know anything about sex actually..

[Glenn Posner]

08:40 PM on 01/14/2012

Chris, it's not brain surgery, really. Just remember that ALL MEN, either directly or indirectly, pay and pay and pay for sex.

[Puss-catel]

07:02 PM on 01/14/2012

If you want to be turned off by sex, just watch any amateur porno video. You are watching what YOU look like when you are in the act...and it ain't pretty!

[Dorian Mode]

10:43 AM on 01/15/2012

sorry you feel that way but that's how it get's done, by amateurs, which I find much more erotic, than pros. If you care what you look like when your doing it. You ain't doing it right.

[Puss-catel]

09:05 PM on 01/15/2012

Maybe we are too fixated on porn as a culture, and quite frankly, looking to be over-stimulated by "erotica". I'd rather go back to the days when you dated a girl, got to know her, respected her, and it took some time just to get to first base. When you finally did get to "make love" ( a lost and forgotten term these days), it was probubly as beautiful, intimate and sexual as you could have imagined. "Imagination" is another word less used these days.

[hman570]

06:20 PM on 01/14/2012

Gee you mean man has been doing it worng for the last 1,000,000,00 year? Seems we don't need advice from people who look to make a buck off of their writings.

[muscle3332007]

04:59 PM on 01/14/2012

Thanks for the useless article.

[jm26dream]

03:11 PM on 01/14/2012

all sex is bad and dirty and should be illegal. If you want kids, just adopt

[Vanderbil Covington]

03:46 PM on 01/14/2012

You've got issues

[ericlssr]

05:32 PM on 01/14/2012

Whats going to happen when everyonne stops having sex, and there are no children to adopt? Looks like were going back to sex again.

[jm26dream]

02:44 PM on 01/15/2012

the world is overpopulated anyway

[fireart]

08:39 PM on 01/20/2012

When everyone stops having sex the men will become bitchy like the women were and the women will become happier. LOL

[fhmjam]

01:36 PM on 01/14/2012

I know how to turn my hand around and pretend it's somebody else.

[StevenRussell1]

11:46 AM on 01/14/2012

Correction: "Than" in my message should be spelled "Then".

[Herecomedajudge]

05:59 PM on 01/14/2012

I just wanted to take the time to acknowledge your correction and thank you.

[twowhitedogs]

06:39 PM on 01/14/2012

Thanks. The spell/grammar checkers get on my nerves.

[StevenRussell1]

11:44 AM on 01/14/2012

Follow God's will for your life, and live in the center of His will.

God created you, inside-out, and knows all about you, very intimately, better than you know yourself, better than these so-called "Expert" rookies here, than you'll learn more about God as you grow in your relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ, resulting in learning more about yourself. God is not only The Expert, He is perfect.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles" (Isaiah 40:31).

[Herecomedajudge]

06:10 PM on 01/14/2012

And wait and wait and wait and wait. .....aaaaaaand wait. Oh ya and wait some more. You've left out consequences of sin, which can last the rest of your life and you won't see "wings of eagle" just wings of hummingbirds. How can you "live in the center of His will" when you don't know what His will IS? My thoughts are NOT your thought nor My ways your ways? Doesn't that mean anything to you? Father forgive them for they know not what they do? If THAT's not the truest verse in the bible. The only verse that means the most to me is Paul, when he says, "to die is gain, to live is Christ". Either way works for me. Learning about yourself takes complete humility and a lot of quiet solitude time that few have. Easy to say, hard to accomplish.

[Robbie Campbell]

03:52 AM on 06/16/2012

And David, a man "after God's own heart" was the picture of monogamy...yeah right, read your Bible again.

[hman570]

06:19 PM on 01/14/2012

What does God have to do with sex? You bible beaters have got to get a friggin life.

[fireart]

08:45 PM on 01/20/2012

Try having sex and praying in tongues the same time and you will, the scales will fall from your sex knowledge. " fireart 101"

[Louie Rey]

11:03 AM on 01/14/2012

You know what I don't know about sex? How to get more of it. I'd ask my wife but she's too busy out on dates! Only kidding. I'd give a personal tutorial on sex but my wife would see to it that I'd be giving it WITHOUT my, you know, equipment. Ouch!

[rocknhula]

01:56 PM on 01/14/2012

Want more sex? Get some business cards printed up saying you are a "producer"

[Herecomedajudge]

06:12 PM on 01/14/2012

Or a photographer, women are suckers for the attention a camara gives. I remember an old joke about scientists finding the compound that reduces women's sexual desire. The compound was called wedding cake.

[thegreenwizard]

06:38 PM on 01/14/2012

I'll try it.

[twowhitedogs]

06:43 PM on 01/14/2012

This is easy. Vacuum the floor, rub her feet, do the dishes, bathe the kids(if you have them and they are babies....lol) run her a bubble bath, make her dinner, etc. These things are foreplay my friend. Do it and watch what happens.

[Louie Rey]

09:28 AM on 01/16/2012

Now you tell me!

[fireart]

08:49 PM on 01/20/2012

Yes!!! What will happen is you crash without a bath at 8.00 and say not tonight babe, Im to tired. LOL