Can brain stimulation change our sexual impulses?
The first study of this method shows that people's sexual desire can be raised or lowered according to the settings of the device.
Instead of measuring how much sex people have in real life, the study measured the sexual response of the participants.
It is unusual that this is done by fixing custom vibrators on people's genitals and measuring how their brainwaves change when they expect the buzz of the stimulus.
"You want to see if they want what you offer," says Nicole Prause of the University of California, Los Angeles . ".
"This is a good model of sexual desire.
This technique includes magnetic stimulation of the cranial brain (TMS)
The paddle above the head uses a strong magnetic field to change brain activity.
It can be used to treat depression and migraine and other uses are currently being studied, including bed rest prevention
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In this study, part of the head, known as the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, was located roughly above the left temple and was involved in the brain's reward circuit.
Prause's team wanted to know if stimulating the area would affect how people feel about sex.
One problem, Prause says, is that the standard approach to assessing desire is too subjective.
"The only way is to ask someone, 'How much do you want to have sex now? '?
People may not be willing or able to tell you, or use different scales.
To solve this problem, the vibrator is either attached to the sheath where the penis enters, or to a small cover suitable for the clit.
The electrodes in the head of each participant measure the intensity of alpha waves in their brains, and when people are more susceptible to sexual excitement, the intensity of alpha waves decreases.
In the experiment, 20 people were given TMS for about two minutes with the aim of stimulating or suppressing the dorsolum prefrontal cortex.
Next, each volunteer was taken to a room where an EEG electrode was placed.
Then let them connect the vibrator themselves.
Finally, each participant performs a task to press the button as quickly as possible when a shape appears on the screen.
According to their speed, they were given genital buzz that lasted for half a second to five seconds-but only after a pause.
Their brain waves were recorded during this waiting time.
"They know they're going to be sexually stimulated, but it hasn't actually happened yet," Prause said . ".
She added that this is the closest analog in the laboratory to measure desire.
As predicted, after excited TMS, the participant's alpha-Bobby was weaker after suppressing TMS-suggesting that they were more susceptible to sexual excitement.
The team was unable to measure any changes in people's sex life because the effect of TMS at one time was very short --lived.
For example, in order to treat depression, people are treated several times a week, which should cause a gradual change in the brain in a few weeks.
But in this study, the overall response of people, as measured by their brainwaves, does correspond to the number of orgasms they get through sex or masturbation over the next three days
Prause said it would be interesting if depression patients with TMS reported any changes in their sex life.
"But no one asked them.
Cicely Marston of the London School of Health and Tropical Medicine pointed out that sex is an extremely complex social phenomenon.
"It's too simple to think you can solve the problem by repairing physiological components," she said . ".
"But if it succeeds, it will have a huge market.
Journal reference: PLoS One, DOI: 10. 1371/journal. pone.