Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with nervoussystem

What biologically causes the pleasure associated with an orgasm?

WCityMike — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:46:54 -0800

What are the underlying processes occurring during an orgasm that are the biological causes of the pleasurable sensation we associate with it? Is the sensation of orgasm a function of the nervous system, or is it something neurochemical in the brain, or both, or neither? Is the reason that certain masturbatory and/or sexual acts feel good because of nerve concentration in the erogenous areas, or is it something different or more in nature? I'm primarily interested in answers relating to the male orgasm ... as I expect the male orgasm and the female orgasm may have different biological processes given the different anatomy?

And just to ward off any wisenheimers, I obviously understand the idea of Act A produces Obvious Biological Result B and Happy Sensation C. What I'm curious about is the underlying medical process behind that equation.

Pictures of the redistributed nervous system?

rebirtha — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 20:02:37 -0800

Can anyone help me find the pictures I once saw of remapped nervous system density in rats and humans? Actually, there were a bunch of different pictures. I saw this in a biology book once in school and there's no way I can trace my steps back to it. The key characteristic of the pictures was that the nerves, normally not equally distributed, are redistributed to be equal. The effect is that the bodies are distorted so that the area containing the dense areas of nerves becomes larger and the less dense, smaller. The rat sticks out in my head as having an especially large nose. Uh.... Pointers?

Electricity down my back: "Is this entirely mental"

jheiz — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 08:29:47 -0800

When I'm lying in bed sometimes I can concentrate and send what feels like a charge of electricity down my spine. Am I actually doing anything or is this entirely mental? My back will physically move a bit as I do it and it feels quite nice, but is it just some sort of illusion?