[ad_1]
There is evidence that women have sex on the brain just as much as — if not more than — their male counterparts, according to a new study.
Scientific researchers have identified the brain region linked to genital touch in women, finding that it is better developed in those who frequently get steamy between the sheets.
The stimulating study, published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience, examined the connection between touch and cerebral development in 20 adult females.
As part of the research, the female volunteers — between ages 18 and 45 — had their clitorises stimulated while their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
For stimulation, a small round object was applied above the underwear at the level of the clitoris, according to AFP, which first reported on the raunchy research.
The device was vibrated eight times, for 10 seconds each time, interspersed with 10 seconds of rest.
Researchers also asked the female volunteers how frequently they had had sex over the past year.
The results of the imaging confirmed that the somatosensory cortex region of the brain was activated in each woman when the device vibrated.
The researchers then measured the thickness of that brain area — finding it was more robust in the female volunteers who reported having the most sex.
“We found an association between the frequency of genital intercourse and the thickness of the individually mapped genital field,” said study co-author Dr. Christine Heim, a professor of medical psychology at Charite University Hospital in Berlin.
In other words: The more sex, the bigger the region.
However, the research was unable to confirm whether having a more developed somatosensory cortex prompts more intercourse, or whether more intercourse expands that brain region, like working out a muscle.
Researchers believe it could be the latter.
It has previously been established that certain parts of the brain become bigger the more they are used — a concept known as “brain plasticity.” For instance, the hippocampus region of the brain in London taxi drivers has been found to expand with more navigating experience.
Heim said further study is required.
“It’s completely understudied, how the female genitals are represented in the somatosensory cortex in humans, and whether it has at all the capacity to change in relation to experience or use,” she said.
In a 2013 study, Heim found that people who have suffered traumatic sexual violence had a thinning of the brain areas devoted to genitals.
“We speculated back then, that this could be the response of the brain to limit the detrimental perception of the abuse,” she told AFP, adding that she hopes her new research will help in the development of future therapies geared toward rehabilitating this region among abuse survivors.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that research has concluded that sex is good for the brain.
Back in 2016, scientists at McGill University in Canada found young women who engage in traditional intercourse have an easier time remembering things than their less sexually active counterparts.
That same year, a Coventry University study similarly found that older guys who get laid regularly have better “brain health” and are less likely to lose memory.
Meanwhile, The Post previously published claims from a doctor who said sex offers a myriad of health benefits.
The doc declared that a regular romp can help beat a cold, cut your heart-attack risk and reduce blood pressure.
[ad_2]