What Happens in Your Brain When You Orgasm?

Most of us have a lot going on in our heads during sex. But it’s not just all those thoughts and feelings bopping around in our heads—what’s actually going on at the neurological level can have a big impact on your sexual experiences.

The term ‘mind-blowing orgasm’ exists for a reason—it isn’t just a physical experience. While our body is being stimulated, our brain is being stimulated as well. This leads to the increased release of certain neurotransmitters, including dopamine, oxytocin, and norepinephrine.

The Brain During Foreplay

Before things even start heating up, the brain and body are already coming alive. The genital sensory cortex, the part of the brain responsible for communicating back and forth with the genitals, begins firing.

In women, the clitoris, vagina, and cervix each activate slightly different parts of the brain. The perineal (groin) region is also stimulated in the process of stimulating the clitoris, vagina, or cervix, something that was only discovered recently.

Since each of these parts can lead to orgasm on its own, combining stimulation in more than one of these areas can lead to a more intense orgasm. Men can only achieve orgasm from the penis, meaning there are also fewer areas of the brain affected/lit up than in women.

The Brain During Arousal

As things start to get more heated, touch leads to arousal and the front medial lobe of the brain turns on. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for initiating sexual behavior. 

Meanwhile, the continued stimulation activates the hippocampus, which manages our memories. So, we may associate certain sights and smells with past sexual encounters or fantasize about past encounters to turn up our arousal levels. This part of the brain also assigns emotional significance to the incoming erotic stimuli.

The amygdala, which governs both the fight-or-flight response and human sexual drive, starts getting involved as one becomes more aroused. It acts as a sexual control center. Once stimuli are assigned an emotional relevance, they are then communicated to the prefrontal cortex, which modulates sex drive.

The amygdala is so important to sex drive that lesions on it can lead to abnormal hypersexual states. This is what occurs with Kluver-Bucy syndrome.

The Brain Right Before Orgasm

As we approach orgasm, it’s not just our genitals that are active. Our cerebellum—the part of the brain that controls our body’s movements—sends signals to our thighs, glutes, and abs to begin tensing.

This muscle tension contributes to orgasm by increasing blood flow to the area and increasing nerve activity. In turn, this sends signals back to the brain to be aroused.

The frontal cortex also joins in on the fun pre-orgasm. This part of the brain is associated with planning and more abstract thought. Therefore, it may be responsible for our mind wandering to sexual fantasies just before we reach orgasm.

During this stage, the anterior cingulate cortex, which is thought to be involved in modulating pain, also turns on. Its orgasmic role is to inhibit pain so that all we feel is pleasure. 

The Brain During Orgasm

Several things happen to the brain during orgasm. For instance, climaxing turns off the part of the orbitofrontal cortex that is responsible for decision-making, which can lead to feeling out of control. This may result in seemingly involuntary sensations like screaming louder than intended at the time of climax or just feeling more daring in bed.

Oxytocin

The hypothalamus releases oxytocin, a feel-good bonding hormone created in the pituitary gland during sex and then released in the hypothalamus. This causes uterine contractions in females.

This gland plays a role in releasing other hormones as well. It also regulates body temperature (important as things get hot and heavy) and manages sexual behaviors. 

Dopamine

During orgasm, dopamine is released from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain, which communicates with other areas to assess how well our human needs are being satisfied. Associated with pleasure and desire, this feel-good hormone acts on the reward system in the nucleus accumbens—the same area associated with drug addiction and Pavlovian responses.

If the VTA has assessed that these needs have been met, it will send dopamine to the nucleus accumbens to reinforce the motivation to keep seeking these feelings of desire. The path between the nucleus accumbens and VTA is known as the “reward circuit.”

Vasopressin

The hormone vasopressin is associated with regulating sexual motivation. While both men and women have it, its levels increase dramatically in erection and male sexual arousal, leading to increased male desire to continue engaging in sexual activity. Following ejaculation, these levels drop back to baseline.

The Brain After Orgasm

Orgasm signals the parasympathetic nervous system to shut down, calming the body. The brain also pumps out serotonin, which is responsible for good mood, relaxation, and post-sex drowsiness which can make us want to nap.

Both men and women may release oxytocin, though women typically release more of the feel-good, connecting hormone. Oxytocin may help relieve pain, potentially helping to reduce headaches after sex or reducing pain from rougher (consensual) sex.