The female orgasm has eluded men for decades — now scientists have come up with a handy map to make locating it easier than ever.
Researchers at Rutgers University have mapped the female sexual brain for the first time.
The study located the brain regions that respond to stimulation of the clitoris, cervix, vagina and nipples. It found that each erogenous zone was linked to a separate part of the brain, clustered in one region of the skull.
The same region is associated with genital stimulation in men.
Study leader Barry Komisaruk and his team examined 11 women who were asked to stimulate their clitoris, vagina and cervix while their brain activity was scanned by an fMRI machine.
As a control, the women were also asked to stimulate other areas including their hands, feet and nipples, with shocking results — the scientists found that nipple stimulation activated the same area of the brain associated with the genitals.
"That was completely unexpected," Komisaruk said. "It would help explain why the nipples are erogenous zones in women."
The sensory parts of the brain were first mapped in the 1950s by a Canadian surgeon Wilder Penfield. He discovered which regions of the brain were linked to different body parts during surgery on male epilepsy patients, who had to remain conscious during surgery.
The first brain maps showed the "sensory homunculus", a strip of brain matter that runs from ear to ear across the top of the head. Penfield's map showed which parts of the homunculus corresponded to body parts.
But while the male sensory brain has been mapped for decades, the female 'feminculus" has remained a mystery until now.
Home