🐊When the reptilian brain takes over during sex...

Do you think during sex, or is your brain switched off? Do you want to know which brain areas are "responsible" for sex, when each is activated, and why?

David Schnarch writes in his book The Psychology of Sexual Passion that the neocortex controls the intensity of sensory stimuli during sex, the degree of our emotional involvement, and whether or not we reach orgasm. This sounds as if fulfilling sexuality is impossible without the neocortex, or as if this newest part of our brain is what distinguishes us from other mammals.

According to the Max Planck Society, the human neocortex is about three times larger than that of our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, and is the seat of many higher cognitive functions, such as our language or the ability to learn.

"Sexual desire is much more recent in evolutionary terms and arose as a consequence of limbic instruction. In the course of further evolution and the associated development of the neocortex and cognitive abilities, the pleasurable search for stimuli was extended to cognitive territories," writes the Harvard Business Manager .

But now comes the sobering realization, because a "sex machine" works much better without a neocortex 😛

David Schnarch elaborates further, explaining the structure of the brain and why sex is such a complex undertaking for humans. It's helpful to know that the following areas of the brain are involved in sex:

• The reptilian brain - the most primitive section, controlling basic functions such as breathing, digestion, and excretion.

• The mammalian brain or cortex

• The neocortex

"Driven impulses and hormonal processes are primarily anchored in the mammalian and reptilian sections of our brain," writes David Schnarch.

It therefore depends on which area of the brain is currently dominant and what characteristics we exhibit as a result. If we are under extreme stress, really intense, as if our lives depended on it, we behave reptilian. If we control our fear, our behavior is more similar to that of mammals.

This is where the neocortex comes into play. It's what makes our sex "human," or rather, something personal. Only through it can we consciously decide with whom and how we have sex, or not, and what that means to us.

David Schnarch also says that this is why sexual development after puberty takes much longer in humans than in animals, because we "first have to cultivate neocortical desire".

Because, according to Schnarch, "it's not simply about the neocortex maintaining control over desire, but about us generating desire and inventing new possibilities in our fantasies and thoughts."

and thus use the neocortex to experience a fulfilling sexuality.

This means that for a fulfilling sex life, it can definitely be helpful not to completely switch off your mind, but to use it "meaningfully." Have fun trying it out! 🦎