Brain Scans of Female Orgasms

The BBC and numerous other sites reported Dutch research of brain scanning couples having orgasms. The couples took turns manually stimulating each other while one partner had their head in a brain scan machine. First, there was little to report about male orgasms, they were too brief to register on current scanning devices. Also cold feet were a problem - literally. Only 50% of the couples were able to achieve orgasm with bare feet, while 80% could come wearing socks. Definitely something to keep in mind.
As it turns out, no particular part of the brain was activated during female orgasm - but there were definitely large parts of the brain deactivated. Specifically the parts of the brain associated with higher mental functions shut down, but also parts of the brain which are associated with the emotion of fear.
The women were also asked to fake an orgasm. The researchers reported they were quite convincing to the observer, but the difference was obvious on the brain scans.


Genuine orgasm: less brain actvity


Tell tale brain activity in a fake orgasm