The Neuroendocrinology Of Love/Sex

[Michael Scally MD]

[OA] Seshadri KG. The neuroendocrinology of love. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2016;20(4):558-63. The neuroendocrinology of love Seshadri KG - Indian J Endocr Metab

Romantic love could be considered as a collection of activities associated with the acquisition and retention of emotions needed to survive and reproduce. These emotions change the individual's behavioural strategies in a way that will increase the likelihood of achieving these goals.

Love may be defined as an emergent property of an ancient cocktail of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters. It appears that lust, attachment and attraction appear to be distinct but intertwined processes in the brain each mediated by its own neurotransmitters and circuits. These circuits feed on and reinforce each other.

Sexual craving is mediated by testosterone and oestrogen and has the amygdala as an important centre. Attraction is mediated by hormones of stress and reward including dopamine, norepinephrine cortisol and the serotinergic system and has the nucleus accumbens the ventral tegmental area as key mediators.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

The Neuroendocrinology of Sexual Attraction

Highlights
· Sexual attraction is expressed as approach behaviors.
· Olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for sexual attraction in rodents.
· Visual stimuli, like the sexual skin, are crucial in primates.
· The responsiveness to sexual attractants depends on gonadal hormones.
· Several brain sites and neurotransmitters are involved in the response to sexual attractants.

Sexual attraction has two components: Emission of sexually attractive stimuli and responsiveness to these stimuli.

In rodents, olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for attraction. We argue that body odors are far superior to odors from excreta (urine, feces) as sexual attractants. Body odors are produced by sebaceous glands all over the body surface and in specialized glands.

In primates, visual stimuli, for example the sexual skin, are more important than olfactory. The role of gonadal hormones for the production of and responsiveness to odorants is well established. Both the androgen and the estrogen receptor alpha are important in male as well as in female rodents.

Also in primates, gonadal hormones are necessary for the responsiveness to sexual attractants. In males, the androgen receptor is sufficient for sustaining responsiveness. In female non-human primates, estrogens are needed, whereas androgens seem to contribute to responsiveness in women.

Le Moene O, Agmo A. The neuroendocrinology of sexual attraction. Front Neuroendocrinol 2017. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091302217301048