Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
12:13
Assessing Primary Motor Cortex Excitability and Excitability Modulation by Pairing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Electromyography
Published on: October 7, 2025
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Sexual motivation is reflected by stimulus-dependent motor cortex excitability
Martin Schecklmann1, Kristina Engelhardt1, Julian Konzok2
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|January 4, 2015
Summary
Sexual motivation measurably alters brain motor cortex excitability in men. Visual sexual stimuli matching sexual orientation enhance motor cortex excitability, linking motivation to motor preparation in human sexual behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Sexuality
- Motor Control
Background:
- Sexual behavior is influenced by motivational processes.
- Neural motor networks are implicated in sexual responses.
- A direct link between sexual motivation and physiological changes in human motor systems is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if sexual motivation modulates cortical excitability in humans.
- To explore the physiological changes in cerebral motor systems related to sexual motivation.
Main Methods:
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used in heterosexual and homosexual men.
- Cortical excitability was measured in response to visual sexual stimuli.
Main Results:
- Sexual motivation modulates cortical excitability.
- Visual sexual stimuli corresponding to sexual orientation increased motor cortex excitability compared to non-corresponding stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Sexual motivation is reflected in motor cortex excitability.
- This provides evidence for motor preparation processes in human sexual behavior.
- The findings link theoretical models and prior neuroimaging research on sexual behavior.
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