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Sexual Behavior

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Neuroscience in the 21st Century

Abstract

Sexual behaviors have evolved to optimize reproduction for a given species. However, in addition to reproduction, individuals also engage in sexual behavior for the associated feelings of euphoria we humans (and most likely all other animals) experience as orgasm. Sexual behaviors include both courtship, such as plumage displays in birds and subtle body language in people, and copulatory behaviors that we commonly think of as “sex,” including in many animals stereotypical pelvic thrusting, erection, and ejaculation. Such behaviors are produced as a result of a tight coordination between various sensory inputs as well as the internal state of the organism. Of particular importance to the regulation of sexual behavior are the sex hormones testosterone and estradiol, which have evolved an efficient and elegant dual role in many species that both prepares gametes for reproduction and primes the neural circuits underlying sexual behavior. You will find that much of what we know about the brain and sexual behavior comes from studies in nonhuman animals including birds and rodents, and in particular the rat. In addition, fruit fly, mice, and voles have been informative in delineating the genetics of sexual behavior.

Joseph J. Normandin and Anne Z. Murphy contributed the male sexual behavior sections. Donald W. Pfaff contributed the female sexual behavior sections

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Abbreviations

AR:

Androgen receptor

DM:

Dorsomedial nucleus of the L5-S1 spinal cord

DL:

Dorsolateral nucleus of the L5-S1 spinal cord

ERα :

Estrogen receptor alpha

ERβ :

Estrogen receptor beta

LSt:

Lumbar spinothalamic spinal cord cells

MeA:

Medial amygdala

MPOA:

Medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus

nPGi:

Nucleus paragigantocellularis of the brainstem

PAG:

Periaqueductal gray of the midbrain

PVN:

Paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus

SPFpc:

Parvocellular subparafascicular nucleus of the thalamus

V1aR:

Vasopressin receptor 1a

Further Reading

  • Bocklandt S, Hamer DH (2003) Beyond hormones: a novel hypothesis for the biological basis of male sexual orientation. J Endocrinol Invest 26:8–12

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  • Burnett AL, Goldstein I, Andersson KE, Argiolas A, Christ G, Park K, Xin ZC (2010) Future sexual medicine physiological treatment targets. J Sex Med 7:3269–3304

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons SW, Lipton JJ (2003) Genetic basis of male sexual behavior. Neurobiology 54:93–110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giuliano F, Rampin O (2004) Neural control of erection. Physiol Behav 83:189–201

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giuliano F, Pfaus J, Srilatha B, Hedlund P, Hisasue S, Marson L, Wallen K (2010) Experimental models for the study of female and male sexual function. J Sex Med 7:2970–2995

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Normandin JJ, Murphy AZ (2011) Somatic genital reflexes in rats with a nod to humans: anatomy, physiology, and the role of the social neuropeptides. Horm Behav 59(5):656–665, Epub 19 Feb 2011

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ortigue S, Bianchi-Demicheli F, Patel N, Frum C, Lewis JW (2010) Neuroimaging of love: fMRI meta-analysis evidence toward new perspectives in sexual medicine. J Sex Med 7:3541–3552

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    Google Scholar 

  • Pfaff DW et al (eds) (2009) Hormones, brain and behavior, 2nd edn. Academic/Elsevier, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfaus JG (2009) Pathways of sexual desire. J Sex Med 6:1506–1533

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tetel MJ, Pfaff DW (2010) Contributions of estrogen receptor-α and estrogen receptor-ß to the regulation of behavior. Biochem Biophys Acta 1800:1084–1089

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University 814 Petit Science Center, 100 Piedmont ave SE, 30303, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Dr. Joseph J. Normandin & Prof. Anne Z. Murphy

  2. Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, 10065, New York, NY, USA

    Prof. Donald W. Pfaff

Authors
  1. Dr. Joseph J. Normandin
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  2. Prof. Donald W. Pfaff
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  3. Prof. Anne Z. Murphy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph J. Normandin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    Donald W. Pfaff

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Normandin, J.J., Pfaff, D.W., Murphy, A.Z. (2013). Sexual Behavior. In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_77

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