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What Is the Trigger for Sexual Climax?

Kevin E McKenna1

  • 1Departments of Neuroscience and Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. k-mckenna@northwestern.edu.

Archives of Sexual Behavior
|October 19, 2021
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sexual climax in all sexes and species is a unitary phenomenon driven by lumbar spinothalamic (LSt) cells. These spinal cord neurons generate rhythmic neural activity, mediating pelvic responses and orgasm.

Keywords:
Central pattern generatorEjaculationOrgasmSexual climaxSpinal cord physiology

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sexual Health
  • Comparative Biology

Background:

  • Sexual climax is a complex physiological event involving pelvic organs.
  • Previous research identified specific spinal neurons (LSt cells) involved in male ejaculation in rats.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a unified model of sexual climax across sexes and species.
  • To identify the neural mechanisms underlying sexual climax.

Main Methods:

  • Review and generalization of existing studies on LSt cells in rats, female animals, and humans.
  • Postulation of a model where LSt cells act as a central pattern generator for climax.

Main Results:

  • Lumbar spinothalamic (LSt) cells in the spinal cord are identified as the central pattern generators for sexual climax.
  • LSt cells mediate pelvic contractions and transmit signals for orgasm.
  • Supraspinal and spinal inputs modulate LSt cell activity, integrating arousal, inhibition, and sensory information.

Conclusions:

  • Sexual climax in men, women, and animals is a unitary phenomenon generated by LSt cells.
  • LSt cells integrate various neural inputs to trigger climax when a threshold is reached.
  • This model provides a neurobiological framework for understanding sexual climax.