The Science of Orgasm

by Barry R. Komisaruk, Beverly Whipple, Carlos Beyer-Flores

Overview

Winner, 2007 Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Book Award, Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality

This fascinating and comprehensive book is the first to explore the complex biological process leading to orgasm. Here, sexuality researcher and nurse Beverly Whipple, coauthor of the international best-selling book The G Spot and Other Discoveries about Human Sexuality, joins neuroscientist Barry R. Komisaruk and endocrinologist Carlos Beyer-Flores to view orgasm through the lenses of behavioral neuroscience along with cognitive and physiological sciences.

The authors explain how and why orgasms happen, why they fail to happen, and what brain and body events are put into play at the moment of orgasm. No topic is left unexplored, as the book describes the genital-brain connection, how the brain produces orgasms, how aging affects orgasm, and the effects of prescription medication, street drugs, hormones, disorders, and diseases.

Covering every type of sexual peak experience in women and menfrom intense to phantom—this informative and entertaining work illuminates the hows, whats, and wherefores of orgasm.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801884900
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	11/26/2006
Edition description:	20
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.03(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barry R. Komisaruk is Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University.

Carlos Beyer-Flores is head of the Laboratorio CIRA of the University of Tlaxcala and CINVESTAV in Mexico. He is the coauthor of The Science of Orgasm, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Beverly Whipple is a professor emerita at Rutgers University and a certified sexuality educator, counselor, and researcher. She is the coauthor of The Science of Orgasm, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Definitions of Orgasm
2. Different Nerves, Different Orgasmic Feelings
3. Bodily Changes at Orgasm
4. Are Orgasms Good for Your Health?
5. When Things Go Wrong
6. Diseases That Affect Orgasm
7. How Aging Affects Orgasm
8. Pleasure and Satisfaction with and without Orgasm
9. The Nervous System Connection
10. The Neurochemistry of Orgasm
11. Effects of Medication
12. Counteracting Medication Side Effects
13. Recreational Stimulant Drugs and Orgasm
14. Depressant Drugs and Orgasm
15. Herbal Therapies
16. Hormones and Orgasm
17. Mechanism of Action of Sex Steroids
18. Nonreproductive Hormones in Orgasm
19. Atypical Orgasms
20. The Genital-Brain Connection
21. Orgasms after Brain Surgery or Brain Damage
22. Imaging the Brain during Sexual Arousal and Orgasm
23. The Cast of Characters: How Brain Components Contribute to Orgasm
24. Consciousness and Orgasm
Glossary
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Hilda Hutcherson

Destined to be a classic in human sexuality. A comprehensive guide to one of life's greatest pleasures. A must read!

— Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., Columbia University, author of What Your Mother Never Told You About Sex

John Bancroft

Of the many aspects of our sexuality, the unique experience of orgasm remains the most mysterious. This intriguing book sheds light on that mystery and reveals what is known and unknown about the orgasmic process. Anyone with an interest in sexuality should own this book.

— John Bancroft, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction

From the Publisher

Of the many aspects of our sexuality, the unique experience of orgasm remains the most mysterious. This intriguing book sheds light on that mystery and reveals what is known and unknown about the orgasmic process. Anyone with an interest in sexuality should own this book.
—John Bancroft, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction

Destined to be a classic in human sexuality. A comprehensive guide to one of life's greatest pleasures. A must read!
—Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., Columbia University, author of What Your Mother Never Told You About Sex

Orgasms are electrifying and mysterious. Why do orgasms feel so good? What inhibits them? Do men's and women's orgasms differ? How many kinds are there? Does aging affect orgasm? I was delighted to find the answers to these and many more questions in this engaging book. An intriguing read—that just might improve your health and change your life.
—Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of Why We Love

As someone who has long cared about sexual health, I found this book to be of immense value. Well-written and enjoyable to read, this book lays out the bases for orgasm disorders, sexual problems, the effects of specific illnesses on orgasm, and how drugs and hormones affect the orgasmic process. With refreshing insights into what makes sexuality a healthy and pleasurable life process, this book belongs in the hands of anyone who wants to know more about this integral part of sexual health.
—David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States

Helen Fisher

Orgasms are electrifying and mysterious. Why do orgasms feel so good? What inhibits them? Do men's and women's orgasms differ? How many kinds are there? Does aging affect orgasm? I was delighted to find the answers to these and many more questions in this engaging book. An intriguing read—that just might improve your health and change your life.

— Helen Fisher, Ph.D., author of Why We Love

David Satcher

As someone who has long cared about sexual health, I found this book to be of immense value. Well-written and enjoyable to read, this book lays out the bases for orgasm disorders, sexual problems, the effects of specific illnesses on orgasm, and how drugs and hormones affect the orgasmic process. With refreshing insights into what makes sexuality a healthy and pleasurable life process, this book belongs in the hands of anyone who wants to know more about this integral part of sexual health.

— David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States

Editorial Reviews

In considerable but lucid detail, three researchers from different fields address every aspect of the science behind orgasms, from why they feel so good to whether transsexual men with surgically created vaginas can have them.
—New Scientist

Approach the book with any question you can conjure about the whys and wherefores of orgasm and you'll receive a minutely detailed answer that incorporates findings from the latest sex research.
—Psychology Today

Behind its tongue-in-cheek 'plain brown wrapper' cover, this unique book offers a thorough compilation of what modern science, from biomechanics to neurochemistry, knows about the secrets of orgasm.
—Publishers Weekly

Those with real faith in science as an exit route from dysfunction might want to check out The Science of Orgasm.
—Elle

The authors cast gimlet eyes over such subjects as multiple and phantom orgasm, as well as the biological process and the effects of various drugs on it. A most stimulating read.
—Gay Times

A neuroscientist, an endocrinologist and a sex researcher team up to create an impressively comprehensive book about orgasms. In intimate detail, authors Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer-Flores and Beverly Whipple . . . discuss the history, mechanics, physiology and neurochemistry of this most mysterious of physical events.
—Los Angeles Times

Twenty-five years after she made the G-Spot famous, Professor Beverly Whipple is still probing the mysteries of the female orgasm. She has shifted her focus higher up the body—to the brain—exploring the areas that light up when women climax.
—Sydney Morning Herald

Important information about sexuality . . . Highly recommended.
—Choice

There are very few books on this subject area and the book is highly commended. It is certainly one to add to the personal library of clinicians working in human sexuality.
—Journal of Sexual Relationship and Therapy (UK)

This is a very easy book to read . . . There are very few books on this subject area and the book is highly recommended.
—Kevan R. Wylie, Sexual and Relationship Therapy

A readable comprehensive account on the literature of orgasm. All psychosexual clinics will need to have a copy as well as anyone who advises others about psychosexual problems.
—Nick Dunn, British Journal of Psychiatry

The authors should be congratulated on taking the trouble to produce a readable comprehensive account of the literature on orgasm. All psychosexual clinics will need to have a copy as well as anyone who advises others about psychosexual problems.
—British Journal of Psychiatry

The book deserves its eye-catching title . . . An excellent, well-written assembly of the current scientific understanding of not only the phenomenon of orgasm but of sexual pleasure in general.
—JAMA

From the Publisher

A neuroscientist, an endocrinologist and a sex researcher team up to create an impressively comprehensive book about orgasms. In intimate detail, authors Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer-Flores and Beverly Whipple . . . discuss the history, mechanics, physiology and neurochemistry of this most mysterious of physical events.

|Los Angeles Times

This is a very easy book to read . . . There are very few books on this subject area and the book is highly recommended.

Sexual and Relationship Therapy - Kevan R. Wylie

A readable comprehensive account on the literature of orgasm. All psychosexual clinics will need to have a copy as well as anyone who advises others about psychosexual problems.

British Journal of Psychiatry - Nick Dunn

In considerable but lucid detail, three researchers from different fields address every aspect of the science behind orgasms, from why they feel so good to whether transsexual men with surgically created vaginas can have them.

New Scientist

Approach the book with any question you can conjure about the whys and wherefores of orgasm and you'll receive a minutely detailed answer that incorporates findings from the latest sex research.

Psychology Today

Important information about sexuality . . . Highly recommended.

Choice

The book deserves its eye-catching title . . . An excellent, well-written assembly of the current scientific understanding of not only the phenomenon of orgasm but of sexual pleasure in general.

JAMA

Those with real faith in science as an exit route from dysfunction might want to check out The Science of Orgasm.

Elle

The authors should be congratulated on taking the trouble to produce a readable comprehensive account of the literature on orgasm. All psychosexual clinics will need to have a copy as well as anyone who advises others about psychosexual problems.

British Journal of Psychiatry

Twenty-five years after she made the G-Spot famous, Professor Beverly Whipple is still probing the mysteries of the female orgasm. She has shifted her focus higher up the body—to the brain—exploring the areas that light up when women climax.

Sydney Morning Herald

The authors cast gimlet eyes over such subjects as multiple and phantom orgasm, as well as the biological process and the effects of various drugs on it. A most stimulating read.

Gay Times

There are very few books on this subject area and the book is highly commended. It is certainly one to add to the personal library of clinicians working in human sexuality.

Journal of Sexual Relationship and Therapy (UK)

"A neuroscientist, an endocrinologist and a sex researcher team up to create an impressively comprehensive book about orgasms. In intimate detail, authors Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer-Flores and Beverly Whipple... discuss the history, mechanics, physiology and neurochemistry of this most mysterious of physical events."

Los Angeles Times

"In considerable but lucid detail, three researchers from different fields address every aspect of the science behind orgasms, from why they feel so good to whether transsexual men with surgically created vaginas can have them."

New Scientist

This is a very easy book to read... There are very few books on this subject area and the book is highly recommended.

— Kevan R. Wylie

Sexual and Relationship Therapy