Human Brain Mapping - Gender Differences and Sexuality

Gender Differences and Sexuality

  • Differences in Brain size is noted between genders.
  • Sex differences in humans see Brain and nervous system for general gender differences. See also Sex differences in human psychology and Neuroscience and intelligence
  • Orgasm positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to examine the correlation of orgasm and specific brain activity in real time.
  • Infidelity (colloquially cheating, adultery, or having an affair) is a breach of an expectation of sexual and or emotional exclusivity expressed or implied in an intimate relationship. Helen Fisher, an anthropologist has used fMRI to assert there also is a neurobiological side to adultery.
  • Love and sex - "We have two brain systems: One of them is linked to attachment and romantic love, and then there is the other brain system, which is purely sex drive." See Helen Fisher (anthropologist). Sometimes these two brain systems are not well connected, which enables people to become adulterers and satisfy their sex drive without any regards to their attachment side. Fisher has also conducted fMRI research on love and lost love. Fisher asserts there are three identifiable physical systems that correlate with the following functions:
  1. lust - the sex drive or libido, also described as borogodó,
  2. attraction - early stage intense romantic love, and
  3. attachment - deep feelings of union with a long term partner.
  • See Development section for more information on attachment and bonding.
  • Neuroscience and sexual orientation example - A recent functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI study has demonstrated that upon viewing of both heterosexual and homosexual erotic visual stimuli, only those images corresponding to the subject’s sexual orientation produced hypothalamic activation patterns associated with sexual arousal. The response of heterosexuals viewing heterosexual adult videos showed the same pattern of sexual arousing neural processing as homosexuals viewing same-sex adult videos, while the viewing of the opposite orientation’s images did not elicit the same response.

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