Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding how the brain controls sexual desire.
Using female mice as a model, the researchers found that a hormone in the brain, (appropriately) called kisspeptin, drives both attraction to the opposite sex and sexual behavior. They discovered that pheromones secreted by the male mouse activate these neurons which, in turn, transmit this signal to another population of neurons (gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons) to drive attraction to the opposite sex. In parallel, they also transmit this signal to cells that produce the neurotransmitter nitric oxide to trigger sexual behavior
Interestingly, both scientificly minded and more popular media sources covering the story have raised the possibility that this discovery may lead to drugs that can raise the libido of women with low sex drives.
Taken together, these findings show that puberty, fertility, attraction and sex are all controlled by a single molecule; kisspeptin. This work opens up new and exciting possibilities for the treatment of patients with psychosexual disorders such as hyposexual desire disorder. “There are currently no good treatments available for women suffering from low sexual desire. The discovery that kisspeptin controls both attraction and sexual desire opens up exciting new possibilities for the development of treatments for low sexual desire”, explained Professor Julie Bakker, who is leading the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Liège University.
Can you imagine a world where women are as horny as men, wanting as much sex as possible? Count me in!
https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/su-nsw012618.php
http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02797-2
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5317425/Brain-chemical-fuels-sex-drive-discovered.html