A psychophysical and neuroimaging analysis of genital hedonic sensation in men

Ruesink, Gerben B, McGlone, Francis P, Olausson, Hakan, de Jong, Camilla, Marsman, Jan-Bernard, Renken, Remco J and Georgiadis, Janniko R (2022) A psychophysical and neuroimaging analysis of genital hedonic sensation in men. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 12 (1). 10181-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14020-4

Abstract

Current understanding of human genital-brain interactions relates primarily to neuroendocrine and autonomic control, whereas interactions during sexual stimulation remain largely unexplored. Here we present a systematic approach towards identifying how the human brain encodes sensory genital information. Using a validated affective touch paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that hedonic responses to discriminatory versus affective tactile stimulation were distinctly different for both penile shaft and forearm. This suggests that, as with other body sites, genital skin contains small diameter mechanoreceptive nerve fibres that signal pleasant touch. In the brain, secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) distinguished between affective and discriminative touch for the penile shaft, but not for the forearm. Frenulum stimulation induced the greatest reports of subjective pleasure and led to the greatest deactivation of the default-mode network. This study represents a first pass at investigating, in humans, the relationship between innervation of genital surfaces, hedonic feelings, and brain mechanisms, in a systematic way.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Genitalia, Somatosensory Cortex, Humans, Physical Stimulation, Touch, Male, Touch Perception, Neuroimaging
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2023 15:09
Last Modified:	07 Jul 2023 15:09
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-022-14020-4
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171543