…and this is a 
A team of neuroscientists has made the coolest nerd porn film ever. They gave 16 women vibrators and asked them to bring themselves to orgasm while they made a movie…of their brains, using an MRI scanner. It's going to premiere at the Society for Neuroscience meetings.
While it sounds like they have some interesting results — there is a consistent, wide-spread pattern of brain activity during orgasm, and specific areas are known to fire up — the article is not going to do a lot for Professor Barry Komisaruk's reputation. The interviewer asked a few too many trivial questions.
"In women, orgasm produces a very extensive response across the brain and body," said Barry Komisaruk, professor of psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who oversaw the research.
"In one experiment we asked women to self-stimulate and then raise their hands each time they orgasmed. Some women raised their hands several times each session, often just a few seconds apart," Professor Komisaruk said. "So the evidence is that woman tend to have longer orgasms and can experience several of them."
So…the women in Professor Komisaruk's life have never had a satisfactory sexual experience with him, so he needed a multi-million dollar machine to figure this out? I'm glad he finally learned this!
(I joke—I'm sure there are interesting neurological results, this article just highlighted the obvious, as if it were news.)
Brain & Behavior
Comments
Posted by: koyote_ken
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November 11, 2010 8:57 AM
....I was wondering where my wife went on Thursday afternoons......
Posted by: J Dubb
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November 11, 2010 9:04 AM
They must have used an all-plastic vibrator. Otherwise, it would go flying because of the magnets. Or am I showing my ignorance of MRIs?
Posted by: gerryboy67
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November 11, 2010 9:06 AM
any footage? Just for scientific purposes you understand.
Posted by: Moggie
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November 11, 2010 9:08 AM
Fucking' MRIs, how do they work?
Posted by: Moggie
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November 11, 2010 9:11 AM
There's an xkcd for everything.
Posted by: Cor (formerly evil)
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November 11, 2010 9:16 AM
It's possible the female orgasm IS news to some people. . .
Posted by: Cor (formerly evil)
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November 11, 2010 9:21 AM
Of course this isn't legit science, which as we all know is always rooted in Biblical truth. Perhaps the MRI was accidentally tuned to "detect sin" mode?
Posted by: Brian
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November 11, 2010 9:24 AM
Reminds me of the comment about the anatomists who argued over who first discovered the clitoris.
Posted by: Moggie
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November 11, 2010 9:29 AM
Good grief.
/eats, shoots, and leaves.
Posted by: BEG
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November 11, 2010 9:45 AM
#6 but those people wouldn't be nearly as interesting to study :-P
Apropos "Renders temporarily impervious to pain": they determined that... how?? Also, I'm tempted to make a joke here, but I think I'll refrain.
On an unrelated (to this particular post anyway), here's a little graphic I stumbled across this morning, thought y'all might like: Contradictions in the bible.
Posted by: Cor (formerly evil)
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November 11, 2010 9:46 AM
Moggie @9:
Your only hurting your'eself by reading book's like that.
Posted by: Anemone
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November 11, 2010 9:50 AM
I'm confused. Don't you need to stay very still for MRI scanning?
Posted by: Cor (formerly evil)
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November 11, 2010 9:51 AM
BEG @10:
It's beautiful! Like the bible is at war with itself - with lasers!
Posted by: Ing: PhD Trollologist
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November 11, 2010 9:51 AM
@12
no that the scan is in real time is one of the benefits of it.
Posted by: Q.E.D
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November 11, 2010 9:55 AM
Beg @ 10
Contadictions in Bible graphic = full of win
As the red lines loaded slowly (on my slow computer) it looked like Lazers being fired by an armada of starships blowing up Bable stupidity into the vacuum of deep space never to return to earth. . . but that could just be me
Posted by: cicely (Inadvertent Phytocidal Maniac)
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November 11, 2010 10:10 AM
But what about The Menz??!?!?!?!?
Posted by: Helioprogenus
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November 11, 2010 10:11 AM
Professor Komisaruk also said "curiously, upon recurrent stimulation, the subjects demanded to continue with further testing"
Posted by: nejishiki
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November 11, 2010 10:25 AM
All this just so he can tell if his wife is faking it? Seems a bit much...
Posted by: gussnarp
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November 11, 2010 10:25 AM
They masturbated to multiple orgasms in an MRI machine? What mental focus!
Posted by: Zabinatrix
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November 11, 2010 10:49 AM
That was pretty much my reaction too. It's not like an MRI-machine is the sexiest place (unless you're into that kind of thing... and hey, I'm not judging here). For me it would be really difficult to find the necessary arousal for the successful completion of such a task in that particular setting.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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November 11, 2010 10:55 AM
I'm sure this was an entirely voluntary experiment, so there was considerable self-selection for women who were confident that they could obtain a sexual response in that environment.
Posted by: Vicki, Chief Assistant to the Assistant Chief
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November 11, 2010 10:56 AM
Before we insult the professor, is there evidence that any of his sex partners are female?
More seriously, there are men out there who simply aren't going to believe a woman on the subject of her own sexuality, especially if she's asking them to make an effort for her pleasure, and some of them might listen to more "scientific" data.
Posted by: Blueaussi
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November 11, 2010 11:02 AM
"They masturbated to multiple orgasms in an MRI machine? What mental focus!"
We're talking direct stimulation of the clitoris by a wildly vibrating object. If you're able to focus on anything else at a moment like that, you're not doing it right.
Posted by: Ambrose Thompson
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November 11, 2010 11:06 AM
Is science still confused that woman have a sex life too?
Posted by: chassoto
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November 11, 2010 11:14 AM
As if you only read science journals for the articles!
Posted by: gussnarp
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November 11, 2010 11:19 AM
@Blueaussi
Remember, different strokes for different folks.Posted by: chassoto
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November 11, 2010 11:20 AM
#4 heh
#26 different VOLTS for different folks. I prefer mine 240V three phase.
Posted by: Blueaussi
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November 11, 2010 11:31 AM
"Remember, different strokes for different folks."
'Strokes' being the operative word, huh?
Posted by: tac
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November 11, 2010 11:31 AM
This is not his first evaluation of this:
Functional MRI of the brain during orgasm in women.
Komisaruk BR, Whipple B.
Annu Rev Sex Res. 2005;16:62-86. Review.
tim
Posted by: gussnarp
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November 11, 2010 11:40 AM
@chassoto - Darn it, YouTube does not seem to have the prison scene from Top Secret for me to link to in response to that...
Posted by: gussnarp
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November 11, 2010 11:47 AM
@Blueaussi - Yes. Pun intended.
Posted by: ereador
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November 11, 2010 11:51 AM
Science is so HAWTT!11!!1!
And, the hottest body part of all is the brain. I have an upcoming MRI. I had not thought on these topics lately; not together anyway. ;¬|
Posted by: Wise Bass
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November 11, 2010 12:07 PM
I love research on sex and neuroscience linkage. Hopefully, there will be more experiments in this direction, for both men and women.*
*I suppose the next steps would be:
1. Measuring a group of men as they masturbate.
2. MRI-scanning people while they have homosexual and heterosexual sex.
Posted by: gussnarp
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November 11, 2010 12:17 PM
@Wise Bass - According to the article, number 1 has been done. And I mean scientifically, not just the lab staff on a slow night.
Posted by: Fred Price, The Cantankerous Cephalopod
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November 11, 2010 12:21 PM
@Wise Bass #33
hmm, good point, following on they could do tests on certain parahillias and peoples personal likes/dislikes.
Posted by: Fred Price, The Cantankerous Cephalopod
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November 11, 2010 12:25 PM
@gussnarp, hahahahahahaha. the image in my head is of scrubs' protagonist JD getting bored during a night shift and well...
i think i just wrote the start too a cheap porn movie.
anyone want in...
Posted by: Algernon, elle sans chapeau
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November 11, 2010 12:28 PM
Maybe his wife is just like me :/
Posted by: PZ Myers
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November 11, 2010 12:42 PM
#2 has also been done...at least the heterosexual part.
Posted by: nejishiki
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November 11, 2010 12:53 PM
If you don't trust her, maybe you shouldn't be sleeping with her. That's how I roll.Posted by: blf
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November 11, 2010 1:04 PM
I almost tempted to see if I can find a Rule 34 use of MRI or similar. Almost.
Posted by: Vicki, Chief Assistant to the Assistant Chief
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November 11, 2010 1:32 PM
nejishiki--
I wouldn't sleep with someone (any gender) who I didn't trust, either. Unfortunately, some people either don't hold to that standard, or aren't able to enforce it. There are also memes like "everyone lies about sex" and the belief among many heterosexuals that nobody of the other sex (i.e., nobody they would choose to sleep with) can be trusted (either about sex, or about relationships, or in some cases at all). Then throw in the whole set of "women don't really like sex, they put up with it to get relationships/money/kids" produces men whose reaction, if their partners don't actively enjoy sex, is something like "that was fun, thank you" rather than "hey, can I do something to make this as good for you as it was for me?"
There's nothing wrong with heterosexuality, but heteronormative culture stinks.
Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn2peMc852q3fsi_SAbnk9j4gugzCjCM2k
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November 11, 2010 2:00 PM
"rational thought processes are overwhelmed"
I could have told them this and saved them the cost of the MRI. My hubby frequently wants to know "what are you thinking about when you climax?" "Nothing. At all."
The women were asked to raise their hand during the orgasm? I would have a very difficult time doing that. I also wonder if any of the women managed to achieve a sustained orgasm while in the MRI.
Posted by: Finch
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November 11, 2010 2:06 PM
You know, scientifically reviewing and testing obvious conclusions always has great value. After all, testing things that seemed obvious have lead to some very novel discoveries. I mean, the world is round, evolution is controversial 150 years after its discovery, climate change is controversial despite the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere being quantified Arrhenius in 1896 and climate change being scientifically noncontroversial since 1979 (Naomi Oreskes, Charney Report). Basically, if it helps some guys who would otherwise behave like apes behave in a more considerate and civilized manner, then there's a reason to publish it.
Posted by: Ragutis
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November 11, 2010 2:12 PM
I knew I recognized that name. I just recently finished Mary Roach's "Bonk" and his work is mentioned a few times. Actually, in one of the most interesting chapters. It's about (among other things) people with spinal cord injuries that are still able to experience orgasm. (Around 40-50% do)
Very fun read, as are all of her books that I've read. (Still waiting for my library to get the new one.)
Posted by: Midnight Rambler
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November 11, 2010 2:54 PM
chassoto @27: 220 on the money, honey!
Posted by: SEF
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November 11, 2010 3:37 PM
@ Vicki #41:
Stephen Fry is guilty of spreading that meme - despite the unlikeliness of the claim and his relative lack of relevant experience.
Posted by: The Countess
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November 11, 2010 3:57 PM
So is this how scientists get dates these days. :)
Posted by: Shplane, some shit in french
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November 11, 2010 6:46 PM
Man I really, really don't need another fetish. I can barely sort through my VAST STORES OF PORNOGRAPHY as it is.
Posted by: Rorschach
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November 11, 2010 6:51 PM
Plastic vibrators, and they better not had any batteries either !
This experiment doesn't seem to tell us anything that we didn't know already 30 years ago, to be honest.
Posted by: Katharine
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November 11, 2010 7:54 PM
I like to condense this down to a simpler sentiment: 'the average person is a moron'.
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/SaqGVG0xvJEQVwURVamS3DTCdvov0BLhXK1jOsYPPJQ-#b4893
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November 12, 2010 12:54 AM
My wife got to participate in this great study, and all I got was this lousy circumcision.
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Seriously, though, it turns out I have a problem that turns out to be not uncommon. It's two words no one wants to hear, but a select number do:
Coital Migraines.
I got a free CT Scan out of it. So yeah, this study doesn't surprise me. The punchline for me: No cats. Whew.
MikeM
Posted by: skepticalseeker.com
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November 12, 2010 10:12 AM
They told the women to raise their hands when they got an orgasm? I'm sure I'd not be thinking of raising my hand at that moment ... maybe some other part though ... LOL
Posted by: Disturbingly Openminded
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November 12, 2010 12:20 PM
What I learned from this study: My wife should have a hand free at a time when she insists that she doesn't.
Thank god I have science on my side!!
Posted by: kev_s
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November 14, 2010 7:48 AM
Maybe time for an old joke... God tells Adam and Eve he's finished creation and the box of goodies is almost empty, but there's a couple of things left in it. "Who want's this?" he asks, pulling a penis from the box. "You can use it to pee standing up and have fun trying to pee over a wall". Adam jumps up, "Oh give it to me! Me! Me! Me ! I want it! I want it!" So God gives the penis to Adam who goes off to pee against a tree. Then he looks in the box and says, "So the last thing is for Eve ... let's see ... ah .. multiple orgasms!"