MRI scanner probes secrets of the female O

DAILE PEPPER - Scientists have observed for the first time what goes on inside a woman's brain during orgasm, and it is as complicated as many men suspected.

Neuroscientists in New Jersey have used MRI scanners to discover that 30 different parts of a woman's brain fire up during orgasm and the pleasure is so great it can stop the lucky lady from feeling pain. This is due to parts of her nervous system shutting down, making the woman less aware of pain sensations.

Volunteers brought themselves to orgasm inside an MRI machine, which scanned the brain during the process. For some this took 20 minutes, while most achieved their goal in under five.

Brain areas responsible for emotion, touch, satisfaction and memory are involved.

Perth-based clinical psychologist and sex therapist Danielle Hannington said she was not surprised by the findings.

She said female sexuality was incredibly complex, with at least one in seven women unable to climax.

"For women to orgasm it's like we need a series of catalysts to get us over the mountain," she said.

"There are a lot of women who experience difficulty with orgasm. It doesn't mean they don't enjoy sex, though."

via Secrets of the female orgasm | Stuff.co.nz.

Related:

Dutch researchers recruited several couples (including a pair of street acrobats) to have sex in an MRI. They produced highly detailed pictures of human anatomy during coitus, and found that Da Vinci's early illustrations of coitus in cross-section made some critical mistakes.