Activation of sensory cortex by imagined genital stimulation: an fMRI analysis.
Activation of sensory cortex by imagined genital stimulation: an fMRI analysis.
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DOI：
10.3402/snp.v6.31481
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Komisaruk BR
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Wise NJ;Frangos E;Komisaruk BR
在之前的研究过程中，我们的实验室偶然发现，仅仅考虑生殖器刺激就会导致大脑激活，与物理生殖器刺激产生的大脑激活重叠，但又不同。这项研究扩展了我们之前的发现，进一步描述了大脑如何处理物理“触摸”刺激和“想象”刺激的差异。11名健康女性（年龄在29-74岁之间）参加了一项功能磁共振成像研究，研究大脑对乳头和阴蒂的想象或实际触觉刺激的反应。另外两个条件——想象的假阳具自我刺激和想象的窥镜刺激——被包括在内，以表征色情意象与非色情意象的影响。乳头和阴蒂的想象和触觉自我刺激分别激活了中央旁小叶（初级感觉皮层的生殖区域）和次级体感皮层。与对这两个身体区域的触觉自我刺激相比，对阴蒂和乳头的想象自我刺激导致额极和眶额皮质的更大激活。对阴蒂和乳头的触觉自我刺激激活了小脑、初级体感皮层（手区）和运动前皮层，而不是对这些身体区域的想象刺激。想象假阳具刺激在生殖器感觉皮层、次级体感觉皮层、海马、杏仁核、脑岛、伏隔核和内侧前额叶皮层产生了广泛的大脑激活，而想象镜刺激只产生了很小的激活。目前的研究结果为生殖器想象刺激的效力提供了证据，并证明了以下大脑区域可能参与性体验：初级和次级感觉皮质、感觉-运动整合区、边缘结构和“奖励系统”的组成部分。此外，这些结果表明了一种机制，通过这种机制，一些人可能能够在没有身体刺激的情况下通过想象产生性高潮。
During the course of a previous study, our laboratory made a serendipitous finding that just thinking about genital stimulation resulted in brain activations that overlapped with, and differed from, those generated by physical genital stimulation. This study extends our previous findings by further characterizing how the brain differentially processes physical ‘touch’ stimulation and ‘imagined’ stimulation. Eleven healthy women (age range 29–74) participated in an fMRI study of the brain response to imagined or actual tactile stimulation of the nipple and clitoris. Two additional conditions – imagined dildo self-stimulation and imagined speculum stimulation – were included to characterize the effects of erotic versus non-erotic imagery. Imagined and tactile self-stimulation of the nipple and clitoris each activated the paracentral lobule (the genital region of the primary sensory cortex) and the secondary somatosensory cortex. Imagined self-stimulation of the clitoris and nipple resulted in greater activation of the frontal pole and orbital frontal cortex compared to tactile self-stimulation of these two bodily regions. Tactile self-stimulation of the clitoris and nipple activated the cerebellum, primary somatosensory cortex (hand region), and premotor cortex more than the imagined stimulation of these body regions. Imagining dildo stimulation generated extensive brain activation in the genital sensory cortex, secondary somatosensory cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, insula, nucleus accumbens, and medial prefrontal cortex, whereas imagining speculum stimulation generated only minimal activation. The present findings provide evidence of the potency of imagined stimulation of the genitals and that the following brain regions may participate in erogenous experience: primary and secondary sensory cortices, sensory-motor integration areas, limbic structures, and components of the ‘reward system’. In addition, these results suggest a mechanism by which some individuals may be able to generate orgasm by imagery in the absence of physical stimulation.