Researchers from Germany and the United States have identified a population of neurons in the hypothalamus that regulates the desire to engage in sexual intercourse. The article of scientists was published in the journal Nature.
The hypothalamus, a small area in the diencephalon, is responsible in humans for many impulses, including hunger, thirst, and the desire to copulate. Researchers from Würzburg and Harvard Universities have found in experiments on mice that the desire to mate in mice is controlled by a special population of neurons that stimulate the release of dopamine – the “pleasure hormone” – in the medial preoptic region of the hypothalamus. The resulting activation of signaling pathways in the neural circuit responsible for mating underlies the continuous increase in the desire to mate.
Scientists have shown that artificial stimulation or suppression of this population seriously affected sexual desire. The results of the study explain why certain medications affect it, in particular SSRIs (which include many antidepressants). According to the authors of the work, the increased level of serotonin “inhibits” associated with dopamine signaling pathways, thereby reducing libido.
