Sexual arousal

That of William Howell Masters and Virginia Johnson described sexual response cycle , human sexual response cycle in humans

In the sexual arousal phase, there is an increased rush of blood to the genitals . This leads to swelling of the penis (above) or the clitoris and the labia (below).

Sexual arousal is a multiple reaction of the limbic system in the brain that causes the initiation of the desire to mate. To trigger sexual arousal in humans wear next to the hormonally induced appetitive behavior optical , acoustic , olfactory and tactile and haptic cues and associative mental shortcuts in each case individually at varying degrees.

This shows, firstly, that as a rule several sensory organs are involved in triggering the excitement, secondly, that the external genital organs (in addition to the skin as a general sensory organ) are special sensory organs due to their abundance of sensory nerve endings and that, thirdly, the physiological processing of the Sensory stimuli in the brain are decisive for the activation of sexual pleasure , a process that can trigger mental and physical reactions. The signaling impulses in animals and humans are compared in the brain with species-specific effective perception patterns and in humans additionally with individual ideals , a process that is largely unconscious , in which sexual imprinting also plays a role. If there is a far-reaching agreement, involuntary physical reactions follow . In humans, this can lead to flirting behavior that corresponds to the courtship behavior of the animals, which may be followed by sexual acts and possibly also mating behavior .

See also

• Erogenous zone
• dedication
• Oxytocin
• Persistent sexual arousal syndrome (permanent arousal syndrome)
• Human sexuality
• Sexual reaction cycle

Web links

• Study with thermal camera: Arousal sets in almost equally quickly in both sexes ( memento from November 17, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), Bild der Wissenschaft , 2006.
• Thermal imaging shatters arousal gender gap myth: McGill study shows women become aroused as quickly as men , McGill University (press release of September 29, 2006)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Desmond Morris : The Naked Monkey . Droemer Knaur Verlag, 1968.
2. ^ Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt : love and hate. On the natural history of elementary behavior. Piper, Munich 1970 . Expanded paperback edition. Piper Series, Volume 113. 12th Edition. Piper, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-492-20113-X .