科學家揭示女性達到性高潮的祕密

Scientists have discovered the female orgasm leads to an altered state of consciousness that could help the minority of women who cannot climax.

科學家發現性高潮能使女性產生一種特殊的意識狀態，這項發現或許會對少部分無法達到性高潮的女性有所幫助。

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands unwittingly stumbled across the results after they examined the brain scans of women taken while they orgasmed.

這種狀態是荷蘭格羅寧根大學的研究人員在對經歷性高潮的女性進行頭部掃描時無意間發現的。

The team noticed that an area of the brain, known as the orbitofrontal cortex or OFC, switched off when the women climaxed.

這個研究小組注意到，女性在經歷性高潮時，她們大腦中被稱爲眼窩前額皮質的區域突然變得不活躍了。It is estimated that one in four women in the US has had difficulty achieving orgasm in the past year, while between five and ten percent of women suffer from anorgasmia and cannot climax at all.

據估計，過去一年裏全美有四分之一的女性很難獲得性高潮，5%-10%的女性感受不到性快感，或者根本就不能達到性高潮。

Speaking to New Scientist magazine, researcher Janniko Georgiadis said the OFC may be the basis for "sexual control", and that by "letting go" women can induce orgasm.

研究員賈尼科 吉爾吉厄迪斯在接受《新科學家》雜誌採訪時稱，大腦的眼窩前額皮質或許是控制人類性高潮的區域，只要女性能讓這一區域“全情投入”，她們就能獲得性高潮。

He said: "I don't think orgasm turns off consciousness but it changes it. When you ask people how they perceive their orgasm, they describe a feeling of a loss of control. I'm not sure if this altered state is necessary to achieve more pleasure or is just some side effect."

他說：“我認爲性高潮並沒有使人喪失意識，而是改變了人的意識。如果你要某人描述到達性高潮時的感受，他們往往會有一種失控的感覺。當然我並不確定這種特殊的意識狀態能使人獲得更多快感，還是僅僅是某種副作用。”

To create the scans, Dutch researchers strapped the women into an MRI scanner and then allowed their partners to pleasure them to orgasm, all the while taking snapshots of their brain activity.

爲了瞭解女性高潮時大腦的狀態，研究人員將參與實驗的女性置於核磁共振掃描儀內，並讓她們的伴侶助其達到性高潮，然後掃描她們腦部的活動情況。It is hoped that by comparing the brain scans of women having an orgasm with those who cannot, scientists will be able to "coach" those with anorgasmia into truly "letting go".

通過對不同女性的腦電圖，科學家可幫助那些不易達到性高潮的女性真正做到“全情投入”。

Kenneth Casey at the University of Michigan explained that people who suffer from chronic pain conditions can be coached to relieve some of their symptoms by altering how they thought.

密歇根大學的肯尼斯 凱西解釋說，那些飽受慢性疼痛病折磨的患者就是通過訓練自己的大腦來減緩痛苦的感覺的。

Mr Casey said: "The placebo effect is an easy example of practical top-down control. You believe you are taking a pill that will help and somehow it does. In my experience, simply telling a patient that the pain they are experiencing is not harmful has an analgesic effect."

他說：“這種安慰劑效應就是典型的“自上而下”的控制結果。根據我的經驗，當你告訴病人他的疼痛不會對身體造成影響時，他就真的能感覺到不會那麼疼了。”

It is hoped that by allowing women with anorgasmia to watch their brain activity in real time, they too will be able to "train" their brain to copy the same activity of women who can experience orgasm.

如果讓那些不易獲得性高潮的女性觀看自己的腦部活動情況，她們或許能通過“訓練”自己的大腦模仿那些經歷性高潮的女性的腦部活動，從而達到性高潮。Barry Komisaruk from Rutgers University in Newark also conducted experiments into the female orgasm.

羅格斯大學的巴利 科密薩盧克也展開過這方面的實驗。

He added: "Orgasm is a special case of consciousness. If we can look at different ways of inducing orgasm, we may better understand how we can use top-down processing to control what we physically feel."

他補充說：“性高潮是一種特殊的意識狀態。如果我們瞭解獲得性高潮的各種途徑，我們也許就能搞清楚爲什麼我們可以通過“訓練”大腦來控制自身的感受。”