The Brain – Its Role and Function in the Human Sexual Response

Our brains are involved in all steps of sexual behavior and in all its variations, from feelings of sexual desire and
partner choice, to arousal, orgasm and even post-coital cuddling (Clark, 2014). The brain impacts the sequence of
physical and emotional changes that occur as a person participates in sexually stimulating activities (Wiley, 2015).
1. The brain stem
The evolutionarily oldest structure; controls primitive responses associated with sexual behaviour and facial
expressions; contains circuits for many emotions, including love/attachment, joy, and sexual excitement (Lewis,2005).
2. The hypothalamus
It controls most body systems by regulating the production of hormones in response to both internal and environmental
events; it controls the pituitary gland, which is the master gland that controls all the other endocrine glands in the body;
the hypothalamus plays a key role in connecting the endocrine system with the nervous system.
3. The limbic system
It mediates learning, memory, and emotion; it contains the:
a. Amygdala – helps generate associations between experiences and emotions
b. Hippocampus – located near the amygdala, it plays an important role in organizing and storing memories for events.

4. The cerebral cortex

Sometimes referred to as the neocortex (neo means “new”, a relative latecomer, evolutionarily speaking (MacLean,
1990). It is the outermost layer of the brain; its function is responsible for thinking and processing information from the
five senses.
The Cerebral Cortex is made up of tightly packed neurons and is the wrinkly, outermost layer that surrounds the brain.
It is also responsible for higher thought processes including speech and decision making.
The cortex is divided into four different lobes:
a. frontal lobe – for cognitive functions and control of voluntary movement/activity
b. parietal lobe – processes information about temperature, taste,
touch and movement
c. temporal lobe – processes memories, integrating them with
sensations of taste, sound, sight and touch
d. occipital lobe – primarily responsible for vision

The Sexual Response Cycle

Your sexual motivation – libido, is your overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. This is affected by biological,
psychological, and social factors. A person’s ability to engage in sexual behaviors is controlled and influenced by sex
hormones, social factors – work and family, internal psychological factors – personality and stress, medical conditions,
medications, pregnancy, and relationship issues.

According to William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the sexual response cycle is a model that describes the
physiological responses that take place during sexual activity. According to the cycle, it consists of four phases:
1. Excitement – the intrinsic (inner) motivation to pursue sex arises; it includes increased heart rate, blood pressure,
and muscle tension;
2. Plateau – sets the stage for orgasm; heart rate quickens, blood
pressure rises, muscle tension increases, and breathing becomes faster;
3. Orgasm – the release of tension; also known as the “climax or peak”
of the sexual excitement; heart rate increases dramatically, blood pressure rise, breathing becomes rapid and shallow,
muscles throughout the body contract, and perspiration is evident; there is an intense, pleasant, or pleasurable
psychological feeling associated with the release of sexual tension; and
4. Resolution – the return to the unaroused state before the cycle begins again; heart rate, blood pressure, and
breathing return to normal state, and muscle tension decreases.

Ways of Dealing with Sexual Energies

Sexual energy is a life-energy. Your sexual impulses have the power to influence so much of what you do, how you act,
and the choices that you make. It takes part in your everyday dealings in the field of human interaction. Sex, as one of
the greatest motivational forces in life, if not properly controlled, can lead to great destruction. The aim of this topic in
knowing your sexual self is to empower you to put into good "use" and avoid "abuse" in all your male and female
relationships and interactions. More so, sex, is not the only method of releasing your sexual energy. You can convert
your sexual energy into productive energy.

The following are ways on how to deal with your sexual energies:

1. Repression – involves keeping certain thoughts, feelings, or urges out of conscious awareness. The goal of this is to
keep unacceptable

desires or thoughts out of the conscious mind in order to prevent or minimize feelings of anxiety*** Repression is
subconscious.
2. Suppression – the person consciously and deliberately pushes down any thoughts that leads to feelings of anxiety.
ex. An older man has sexual feelings towards a teenager and quickly suppresses the thought. ***Suppression is
conscious.
3. Sublimation - allows us to act out unacceptable impulses by converting these behaviors into a more acceptable
form.
ex. A person experiencing sexual urges/thoughts might take up sports
as a means of expressing these forces.
4. Genital satisfaction – giving in to one’s sexual desires through sexual gratification; it includes sexual intercourse –
the likes of premarital sex, marital sex, and extramarital sex.
5. Integration – integrate one’s sexual energies into friendships, marriage, vocation, and all levels of relationships.

THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE: THE SCIENCE BEHIND LUST, ATTRACTION, AND COMPANIONSHIP

According to anthropology professor Helen Fisher, there are three stages of falling in love. In each stage, different brain
chemicals influence your brain chemistry - the neurotransmitters that get you all excited and the hormones that carry
the feeling all throughout your body.

1. Lust - driven by the desire for sexual gratification; evolutionary basis for this is our need to reproduce; through
reproduction, organisms pass on their genes, and thus contribute to the perpetuation of their species.
The hypothalamus of the brain plays a big role by stimulating the production of the sex hormones:
a. Testosterone – from the testes; being “male”; increases libido
b. Estrogen – from the ovaries; being “female”; increases sexual motivation in women during ovulation (peak of
estrogen production)

2. Attraction (Falling in love) – involves romantic or passionate love, characterized by euphoria; physical symptoms
of falling in love include loss of appetite, inability to sleep, lack of concentration, wet palms, and butterflies in the
stomach.

These symptoms are caused by surging brain chemicals called monoamines:

a. Dopamine - produced by the hypothalamus, released when we do
things that feel good to us like spending time with loved ones and having sex.

b. Norepinephrine – high dosage are released during attraction; these chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and
euphoric, even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia; also known as noradrenalin, it plays a large role in the “fight
or flight” response, which kicks into high gear when we’re stressed and keeps us alert.
c. Phenylethylamine – a natural amphetamine; gives the feeling of being on-top-of-the-world that attraction can bring;
and gives the energy to stay up day and night when in love.
d. Serotonin – a hormone that’s known to be involved in appetite and mood; this gives the overpowering infatuation
that characterizes the beginning stages of love.

3. Attachment (Staying together) - the predominant factor in long-term relationships. While lust and attraction are
pretty much exclusive to romantic entanglements, attachment mediates friendships, parent- infant bonding, social
cordiality, and many other intimacies as well.
The two primary hormones here appear to be
a. Oxytocin - often nicknamed as “cuddle hormone”; it is produced by the hypothalamus and released in large quantities
during sex (peaks during orgasm), breastfeeding, and childbirth, all of these events are precursors to bonding.
b. Vasopressin – also called the “monogamy chemical”; researchers have found out that suppression of vasopressin can
cause male prairie voles to neglect their partners and not fight off other male voles who try to mate with their partners.
c. Endorphins - are chemicals produced naturally by the nervous system to cope with pain or stress; are often called
"feel-good" chemicals because they can act as a pain reliever and happiness booster.

DIVERSITY OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Gender and sexual diversity (GSD), or simply sexual diversity, refers to all the diversities of sex characteristics, sexual
orientations and gender identities, without the need to specify each of the identities, behaviors, or characteristics that
form this plurality.
Sexual Orientation
a. Heterosexuals - sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex; commonly referred to as straight;
b. Homosexuals - sexually attracted to people of their own sex; gay or lesbian;
c. Bisexuals - sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women;
Gender identity
a. Transgender - denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with
their birth sex;
b. Cisgender - denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their
birth sex;

lesbian
The term lesbian refers to the feminine version of homosexuality. It’s used to identify two women who are attracted to
each other. If you have a teen who transitioned from male to female but still prefers females romantically, they are
considered lesbian.
Bisexual
This type of sexual orientation describes people who are attracted to more than one gender. Some people also refer to
bisexuality as pansexuality, as it denotes an attraction to a broader spectrum of sexual orientation than just the two
stereotypical genders.
Asexual
Asexual people are not sexually attracted to anyone. Although they may experience romantic attractions to any gender,
they’re not interested in getting physical in the more traditional sense.
Demisexual
This sexual orientation type often falls along the spectrum of asexuality. Most of the time, demisexual individuals only
feel a sexual bond towards another person after they’ve established an emotional or romantic connection.
Pansexual
People who identify as pansexual prefer not to limit their romantic or sexual attraction to others in any way. They don’t
feel defined by specific gender identities or sexual orientations.