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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Dissection of Pelvic Autonomic Ganglia and Associated Nerves in Male and Female Rats
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How the Emotional Motor System Controls the Pelvic Organs.

Gert Holstege1

  • 1The University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute, Department Asia Pacific Center for Neuromodulation, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Sexual Medicine Reviews
|November 23, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain controls pelvic organs via a specific descending emotional motor system. In women, medial orbitofrontal cortex deactivation impairs sexual function, suggesting a neurological basis for hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Keywords:
Hypoactive Sexual Desire DisorderParasympatheticPelvic Floor Stimulating CenterPelvic Organ Stimulating CenterPeriaqueductal GrayUrge-Incontinence

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Human Physiology
  • Sexual Health

Background:

  • The brain's motor system is crucial for survival, encompassing voluntary and emotional functions.
  • Emotional motor control is essential for species survival, including reproduction and offspring care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the brain's emotional motor system's role in controlling pelvic organs.
  • To identify the specific neural pathways and brain regions involved in this control.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized anatomical and physiological data from cats and humans.
  • Investigated the neural circuitry connecting the brainstem to sacral parasympathetic motoneurons.

Main Results:

  • Identified a specific descending brain pathway for pelvic organ control.
  • The pontine pelvic organ stimulating center (POSC) and periaqueductal gray (PAG) are key relay stations.
  • Medial orbitofrontal cortex in humans significantly influences PAG activation, crucial for sexual function.

Conclusions:

  • Deactivation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex in women leads to reduced PAG-POSC activation, causing hypoactive sexual desire disorder symptoms.
  • This neurological dysfunction results in decreased sexual behavior and associated personal distress.
  • The findings raise questions about potential pharmacological interventions for this condition.