![]() In fact, these books were banned in some countries. As you might imagine, not everyone was happy that this information was being published. The books, which were filled with statistics and scientific lingo, sold remarkably well to the general public, and people began to engage in open conversations about human sexuality. Never before had the American public seen its private sexual behavior become the focus of scientific scrutiny on such a large scale. The Kinsey Institute has continued as a research site of important psychological studies for decades.Īt the time, the Kinsey reports were quite sensational. In 1947, Alfred Kinsey established The Kinsey Institute for Research, Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University, shown here in 2011. While this is not the case for humans, there is considerable evidence that sexual motivation for both men and women varies as a function of circulating testosterone levels (Bhasin, Enzlin, Coviello, & Basson, 2007 Carter, 1992 Sherwin, 1988). For example, many animals show no sign of sexual motivation in the absence of the appropriate combination of sex hormones from their gonads. Given the hypothalamus’s role in endocrine function, it is not surprising that hormones secreted by the endocrine system also play important roles in sexual motivation and behavior. Moreover, disorders that involve abnormal hypothalamic function are often associated with hypogonadism (reduced function of the gonads) and reduced sexual function (e.g., Prader-Willi syndrome). The worldwide popularity of drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction (Conrad, 2005) speaks to the fact that sexual motivation and the ability to engage in sexual behavior can also be dissociated in humans. ![]() In contrast, the amygdala and nucleus accumbens are involved in motivation for sexual behavior, but they do not affect the ability to engage in it.Īlthough human sexual behavior is much more complex than that seen in rats, some parallels between animals and humans can be drawn from this research. The medial preoptic area, an area of the hypothalamus, is involved in the ability to engage in sexual behavior, but it does not affect sexual motivation. ![]()
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