Mary Roach: 10 things you didn't know about orgasm | TED - YouTube

A highly intriguing study titled "Observations of In-Utero Masturbation" was published in The Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. It includes ultrasound images showing a fetus with its hand near the penis, and according to radiologist Israel Meisner, mimicking masturbation movements.

The study highlights that orgasm is a reflex controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which manages involuntary bodily functions such as digestion, heart rate, and sexual arousal. Orgasms can be triggered by various stimuli, not just genital stimulation. For instance, Kinsey documented a woman who could orgasm from having her eyebrow stroked. Those with spinal cord injuries may develop hypersensitivity in areas above their injury, leading to phenomena like knee orgasms. A peculiar case involved a woman experiencing orgasms while brushing her teeth, a response to the sensory-motor action rather than the toothpaste itself. Despite this, she believed she was possessed by demons and switched to mouthwash.

Another fascinating case involved a woman who could achieve orgasm through thought alone, a phenomenon confirmed in a study at Rutgers University. This woman once experienced such an orgasm on the Disneyland tram.

The sacral nerve root is central to orgasm, and stimulating it can trigger the response. Remarkably, certain spinal reflexes can be induced in brain-dead individuals on life support, known as beating-heart cadavers. This includes the Lazarus reflex, where a dead person's arms lift when the appropriate spot is stimulated. Theoretically, it's possible to induce an orgasm in a dead person if the sacral nerve is oxygenated.

The paper also delves into historical beliefs about orgasm, such as Theodoor van De Velde's assertion that a woman's breath has a seminal odor after intercourse and the "upsuck" theory, which posited that female orgasm helps conception by drawing semen into the cervix. Masters and Johnson debunked this theory through experiments with artificial semen.

Finally, the article touches on the role of orgasm in fertility, suggesting that frequent ejaculation refreshes sperm, potentially enhancing fertility. In the animal kingdom, this concept is supported by practices in pig farming, where sows are sexually stimulated during artificial insemination to increase the farrowing rate.

The presentation concludes with Masters and Johnson's research into the human sexual response cycle and Alfred Kinsey's measurement of ejaculate distance to debunk a fertility theory. His findings showed that while most men's semen merely dribbled out, one record-holder managed to ejaculate nearly eight feet.

The original article: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7jx0dTYUO5E&list=PLV7xfBoJKBNQ3yhYgQRqocSWs1MKF7j0n&index=11