Is orgasm an identifiable physiological process?
in association with Jean-Claude Piquard, sexologist and author
Survey on sexual pleasures
We expect a minimum of 3000 international responses, corresponding to all genders, all ages and all sexual practices.
The study results and conclusions are forecasted for 2016.
How can you take part?
We are also considering a partnership with a manufacturer, but we strictly have no interest in selling monitoring devices.
- A heart rate monitor designed for athletes (thoracic belt + bracelet receptor), from 20€ with instant reading
- Smartphone version (thoracic belt + smartphone reception) with recording of results, from 30€. This is the device giving most meaningful results for our survey. We strongly suggest using it.
Many sportsmen already own heart rate monitors, and can therefor easily take part in the survey. For those who do not own one, the price being quite low, you can partner to buy one and reduce costs. The 60 Beats Heart Monitor belt with the Heart Graph iPhone app it out favorite choice. (We have no commercial agreement with Amazon, this is just a suggestion and you can get it from any other vendor.)
Explanations
Nowadays, the definition of orgasm is “to reach the climax of pleasure”, a definition that only refers to subjective perception. It would seem that not all sexual pleasures lead to an orgasm, as for example the long vaginal pleasure. This survey will help understand the different processes of sexual pleasures. Some pleasures are controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system (autonomic nervous system) as in men, before ejaculation. But what about women?
Recently, cerebral imaging has allowed us to identify areas in the brain involved in sexual pleasure. Lacking a clear definition of what an orgasm is, however, makes it difficult to know if these studies scan for the brief orgasm or some other pleasures.
Our hypothesis is that the most constant and the easiest clinical sign to observe is the heart rate’s brutal increase (almost doubling).
We were able to gather a first collection of informal results, helping us corroborate the fact that the heart rate suddenly increases, often doubling over a short period of time, both when men orgasm-ejaculate and when women experience clitoral orgasms. We were also able to measure this brief heart rate acceleration with a cardiac holter monitor. Oddly, the cardiologist identified this occurrence as a glitch in the monitoring, and went as far as being showed skepticism concerning the patient’s claims. This only underscores how Masters and Johnson’s studies remain largely unknown.
To confirm these results, we wish to extend the measures to all sexual practices and all the erogenous zones that can trigger an orgasm.
Turning to literature doesn’t really help. Hippocrates compared orgasms to epileptic seizures. After 1550 when Colombo had described the anatomy of the clitoris and had identified it as the feminine pleasure organ, the most frequently used phraseis became “venereal spasm” for both men and women. These expressions all refer to a short occurrence accompanied by spasms. The word orgasm first appeared in the modern lexicon at the beginning of the 19th century and was popularized by Freud when he invented the notion of the vaginal orgasm (1905).
Masters and Johnson started studying human sexual reactions in 1950. They observed 694 couples and close to 10,000 orgasms. They were the first to describe the process of orgasm in both men and women, identifying pelvic spasms radiating throughout the body. These spasms are the result of a sympatholytic storm (accelerating autonomic nervous system) with accompanying physiological signs :
- Respiratory rate increases, going from 14 respirations per minute at rest to a maximum of 40.
- Blood pressure, usually around 130 mmHg at rest, brutally reaches just over 200.
- Heart rate, around 65 beats per minute at rest, brutally reaches 130, and can in some cases soar to 180.
- Skin can present reddening in the torso and face …
- Pupils dilate.
Masters and Johnson started studying human sexual reactions in 1950. They observed 694 couples and close to 10,000 orgasms. They were the first to describe the process of orgasm in both men and women, identifying pelvic spasms radiating throughout the body. These spasms are the result of a sympatholytic storm (accelerating autonomic nervous system) with accompanying physiological signs :
- Respiratory rate increases, going from 14 respirations per minute at rest to a maximum of 40.
- Blood pressure, usually around 130 mmHg at rest, brutally reaches just over 200.
- Heart rate, around 65 beats per minute at rest, brutally reaches 130, and can in some cases soar to 180.
- Skin can present reddening in the torso and face …
- Pupils dilate.
