Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories emphasize the potential for self-realization and the importance of addressing social and cultural, rather than biological, factors in personality development. She challenged traditional Freudian views, particularly Freud's concept of "penis envy," which she argued stemmed from cultural influences rather than inherent biological differences. Horney believed that any sense of inferiority in women was a result of societal conditioning, such as dependence on...

Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance

Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance

Primary motives such as sleep, sex, and pain avoidance are crucial drivers of behavior in humans and animals. These motives ensure survival, reproductive success, and overall well-being by prompting actions that meet essential bodily needs.
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...

Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Genital

Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Genital

The genital stage is the final phase of Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, beginning at puberty, around age 12. During this stage, sexual energy shifts from self-focused interests to external individuals, marking the development of mature adult sexuality. Freud saw this phase as a time of sexual reawakening, with desires directed toward others outside the family. A healthy transition into this stage, according to Freud, signifies the emergence of two key aspects of adult...

Lateralization

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia during sedative-hypnotics withdrawal on sleep and cognition in older adults.

Sleep medicine·2025

Same author

Primary and Secondary Progressive Aphasia in Posterior Cortical Atrophy.

Life (Basel, Switzerland)·2022

Same author

Opposed attentional hemi-bias on a visuoconstructive task in children with severe hyperactivity versus severe inattention.

Laterality·2021

Same author

Proteomics and Transcriptomics of the Hippocampus and Cortex in SUDEP and High-Risk SUDEP Patients.

Neurology·2021

Same author

Spatiotemporal dynamics between interictal epileptiform discharges and ripples during associative memory processing.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2021

Same author

Immunoreactivity of Muscarinic Acetylcholine M2 and Serotonin 5-HT2B Receptors, Norepinephrine Transporter and Kir Channels in a Model of Epilepsy.

Life (Basel, Switzerland)·2021

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways

Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways

Published on: December 9, 2013

Opposed hemispheric specializations for human hypersexuality and orgasm?

Sabrina Suffren¹, Claude M J Braun, Anik Guimond

¹Centre de Neurosciences de la Cognition and Départment de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.

Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B

|April 13, 2011

Summary

This study suggests right hemisphere brain lesions are more commonly linked to hypersexuality than left hemisphere lesions. It also found that orgasms during seizures are more frequent with right-sided seizure foci.

More Related Videos

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

Published on: December 18, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways

Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways

Published on: December 9, 2013

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

Published on: December 18, 2016

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Neurology
Neurobiology

Background:

Hypersexuality and ictal orgasms are complex neurological phenomena.
The specific roles of the left hemisphere (LH) and right hemisphere (RH) in sexual function remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between cerebral hemisphere lesions and hypersexuality.
To determine the relationship between seizure foci laterality and the occurrence of ictal orgasms.

Main Methods:

A multiple case report analysis was conducted.
Patient data were analyzed based on the location of brain lesions (RH vs. LH) and seizure foci (right-sided vs. left-sided).

Main Results:

Hypersexuality was more frequently associated with right hemisphere (RH) lesions (n=26) compared to left hemisphere (LH) lesions (n=7).
Ictal orgasms occurred more often in patients with right-sided seizure foci (n=23) than left-sided foci (n=8).
Findings suggest a potential role of LH release following RH lesions and RH activation in ictal orgasms.

Conclusions:

The RH may be specialized for the release of sexual tension (orgasm), while the LH might be specialized for increasing sexual tension.
These findings propose distinct hemispheric specializations for different aspects of sexual function, with the RH potentially playing a key role in orgasm.