Scientists discover brain region that responds to clitoris

WASHINGTON - A new scientific study published Monday has identified the brain region linked to genital touch in women, and found that it was more developed in volunteers who reported having more sex.

The research involved stimulating the clitorises of 20 adult females while their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The researchers clarify that the paper, published in the journal JNeurosci, does not answer questions like whether having a larger area devoted to genital stimulation makes women more sensitive to touch. 

It also doesn't tell us whether having a more developing brain region devoted to genital touch prompts more intercourse, or whether more intercourse expands the region, like working out a muscle.

But the results could be used in future to target treatments for people who have, for example, been impacted by sexual violence, or have sexual dysfunction.

"It's completely under studied, how the female genitals are represented in the somatosensory cortex in humans, and whether it has at all the capacity to change in relation to experience or use," co-author Christine Heim, a professor of medical psychology at Charite University Hospital in Berlin, told AFP.

BODY MAP

The somatosensory cortex receives and processes sensory information from across the body. Each part of the body corresponds to a different area of the cortex, forming a representational map.

But until now, the part of the map that corresponds to the female genitals was a subject of debate.

Previous studies had sometimes placed it under the representation of the foot, others near that of the hip. 

The reason was imprecise stimulation techniques -- for example, during self or partner delivered manual stimulation, other parts of the body were touched at the same time, or the process triggered arousal, which blurred the results.

In 2005, other researchers were able to develop a technique that caused very localized tactile stimulation for penises, allowing them to find the precise region devoted to this area in males. But there was no similar breakthrough for females.

For the new study, 20 women in good health between the ages of 18 and 45 were selected.

For stimulation, a small round object specifically designed for the task was applied above the underwear at the level of the clitoris. Air jets caused the device's membrane to vibrate slightly.

The approach was designed to be "as comfortable as possible" for the volunteers, said co-author John-Dylan Haynes of the Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging at Charite.

They were stimulated eight times, for 10 seconds each time, interspersed with 10 seconds of rest. The same device was used on the back of the right hand as a control.

The results of the brain imaging confirmed that the somatosensory cortex represented the female genitals next to the hips -- as they are in males -- but the precise location varied for each woman tested.

PLASTICITY

The researchers then investigated whether this area had different characteristics depending on sexual activity. 

The 20 women were asked about the frequency of their intercourse over the past year, as well as since the beginning of their sexual life.

Then, for each of them, the researchers determined the ten most activated points in the brain during stimulation, and measured the thickness of those areas.

"We found an association between the frequency of genital intercourse and the thickness of the individually mapped genital field," said Heim. The more sex, the bigger the region.

The authors are hesitant to say more sex drives that expansion, until future study confirms it.

But there are hints from past research. First, it's well established that the more certain parts of the brain are used, the bigger they become: this is known as brain plasticity. The hippocampus region of the brain in London taxi drivers expands with navigating experience.

Second, prior animal studies showed that the stimulation of the genitals of rats and mice effectively led to an expansion of the area of the brain corresponding to these organs. 

That research also did not determine whether a larger area resulted in better perception. 

But Heim herself had previously shown in a 2013 study that people who have suffered traumatic sexual violence had a thinning of the brain areas devoted to genitals.

"We speculated back then, that this could be the response of the brain to limit the detrimental perception of the abuse," she said.

She hopes her research will help inform future therapies aimed at rehabilitating this region among abuse survivors.

Agence France-Presse

Scared but desperate, Thai sex workers forced to the street

BANGKOK — A shutdown to contain the coronavirus has killed Thailand’s party scene and forced sex workers like Pim out of bars and onto desolate streets. She’s scared but desperately needs customers to pay her rent.

Red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlors closed and tourists blocked from entering the country.


That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic.

“I’m afraid of the virus but I need to find customers so I can pay for my room and food,” Pim, a 32-year-old transgender sex worker, told AFP in an area of Bangkok where previously bawdy neon-lit bars and brothels have gone dark.

Since Friday Thais have been under a 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew. Bars and eat-in restaurants closed several days earlier.

Many of Bangkok’s sex workers had jobs in the relative safety of bars, working for tips and willing to go home with customers.

When their workplaces suddenly closed most returned home to wait out the crisis.

Others like Pim went to work on the streets.

The government said it is ready to enforce a 24-hour curfew if necessary to control a virus that has infected more than 2,000 people and killed 20, according to official figures.

Pim is paying a heavy price for the movement restrictions – she has not had a customer for 10 days and the bills are stacking up.

Her friend Alice, another transgender sex worker, has also been forced to move from a go-go bar to the roadside.

“I used to make decent money sometimes $300-600 a week,” Alice said.

“But when businesses shut down my income stopped too. We are doing this because we’re poor. If we can’t pay our hotel they will kick us out.”

High risk

The occasional tourist loiters near clusters of sex workers, before a furtive negotiation and a quick march to a nearby hotel, one of the few still open on Bangkok’s main tourist drag.

The already high risks of sex work have rocketed as the virus spreads.

Sex workers have flocked back to homes across the country in anticipation of several weeks of virtual lockdown before Thailand’s night economy comes back to life.

There were fears the malaise could last for months, yanking billions of tourist dollars from the economy and leaving those working in the informal sector destitute.

They include sex workers – an illegal but widely accepted part of Thailand’s nightlife.

There were concerns that a Thai government emergency scheme to give 5,000 baht ($150) to millions of newly jobless over the next three months will exclude sex workers because they cannot prove formal employment.

The Empower Foundation, an advocacy group for the kingdom’s sex workers, said entertainment venues make around $6.4 billion a year, many of them selling sex in some form.

Women are suffering the most from the virus measures, it said. Many are mothers and their family’s main income earner, forced into sex work by lack of opportunities or low graduate salaries.

The group has written an open letter to the government urging it to “find a way to provide assistance to all workers who have lost their earnings”.

As the 10 pm curfew looms, Pim and Alice prepared for a final forlorn patrol for customers.

“I think the government has been really slow. They don’t care about people like us who work in the sex industry,” Alice said.

“We’re more afraid of having nothing to eat than the virus.”

Agence France-Presse

Too shy to ask for sex? Press a $57 button to tell your partner you want some action

Technology has come far enough — or gone backward, some would say — to trigger action in the bedroom with a tap of a button.

LoveSync, which consists of two USB-powered buttons, claims to be “the only set of buttons designed to get you laid.” One set goes for $57 (roughly P1,100).

It aims to solve a lack of sex between couples without a word, or the fear of rejection: the idea is the button can be pressed “discreetly” to quietly tell your partner you are horny. If both buttons are tapped within a 15-minute “consensus window,” the buttons will light up, giving both parties a literal go-signal.


The project launched on Kickstarter last Tuesday, Feb. 12. In two days, it has reached its full funding — $8,944 of its $7,000 goal — with 196 backers.

The “consensus window” can be increased up to 24 hours depending on the number of taps. One tap gives one 15 minutes to wait for some consensual action, while five gives you and your partner a full 24 hours to decide if you want to get it on.

The concept came from American couple Ryan and Jenn Cmich who have been married for 15 years. They shared that their dwindling sex life amid their busy schedules led to this idea from Ryan, a consumer robotics engineer. Jenn, who manages a marriage therapy practice, agreed that using the buttons has helped bring sparks back between them.

The Kickstarter page states that they decided to make it thanks to 65 people surveyed: 130 were consulted about the buttons and half reportedly said they would use it to spice up their sex lives.

Despite what may be good intentions, the product faced its share of mockery on Twitter.

“Lol just tell your partner you’re horny, and if they’re also horny, like go to town, my dudes,” said The Verge reporter Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) on Twitter. “My favorite part is that your partner ‘anonymously pushes the button.’ There are only two of you, how is it anonymous?!”

Writer EJ Dickson (@ejdickson) said, “If my husband spent $50 on a button to summon me to have sex with him, he wouldn’t be having sex with anyone for a while, I’ll tell ya that much for free.”

Others found more practical uses for the button, particularly for decisions that could end in a messy discussion. “Just gonna buy this to use to figure out if one of us is gonna make dinner or if we’re gonna order in,” said Eric Mersmann (@presenteric).

Parker Higgins (@xor) proposed “bail buttons”: “The other thing this would be great for is ‘do you secretly want to skip this event we have had in our calendar for weeks now that it’s actually tonight.’” JB

source: technology.inquirer.net