11.+Sexual+Arousal

Group: **Sexual Arousal** Sara Marcus Trish Erickson Miranda Simone

Title: Erotic Ride of Sexual Arousal Subtitle: 1. Psychological and Brian Control:
 * Psychological theories of the affect of sexual arousal based on know chemical reactions.

Question going to be asked for this topic: 2. Hormones and Erogenous Zones:
 * Why does __ turn you on?
 * What thoughts comes to mind when you are turned on?
 * What do you think of when you hear the word 'arousal'?
 * (Males only) Do you still get "wet dreams"?
 * Has there ever been a time when you were sexually aroused with no explanation? If yes, when?
 * What do you consider intercourse?
 * How the hormones and chemicals react during arousal and what the erogenous zones are and how they contribute

Question going to be asked for this topic: 3. What can cause arousal:
 * Can you recall the first time you were aroused?
 * Have you had sex?
 * Has there been a time when you have been with someone and they touched you in a spot(non genitals area) that got you aroused?
 * What types of things makes people aroused and what causes it for different people. Also to get an idea of what others do to make someone aroused with and without trying to.

Question going to be asked for this topic:
 * What is the first thing you notice on the sex you are attracted to?
 * What type of things arouses you?
 * Do you watch porn? If yes, what kind?
 * Do any kind of object make you aroused? If yes, what kind of objects?
 * Do you have and kind of fantasy?
 * What kind of kissing makes you aroused?
 * What part of the sex you are attracted to do you like the most?
 * What is a "turn on"?
 * Is there anything someone can do to make you aroused?

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If you have ever been sexually aroused or “turned on” as one might say, then you should know that the rocking orgasm, everything leading up to it, and basically everything else that you do, is controlled by your brain. Every thought, feeling, and sensation you have experienced and every one you will in your lifetime is brought about by electric impulses flowing through various nerve cells. Certain pleasure pathways begin to open while all of your defense pathways are shutting down (only temporarily). This is why you become aroused…or even why you think the guy you bumped into at the coffee shop was a mega hottie...this is all mental! ======

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To start, there is the Limbic System. The circuitry in this portion of your brain is common to all mammals. This area controls neurochemical changes and the circuits withholding those neurons control most of our bodily functions. The Limbic System is the seat of emotions, drives, impulses, and desires—and ironically the part of your brain that is not prone to convincing that you love someone or something (or staying in love for that matter) without the Limbic System’s sole consent anymore than you can control how many times you blink in a day. ======

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The principal neurochemical for love and emotion is dopamine. Engaging in activities that aid your survival (sex, eating, drinking, etc.) all increase the release of dopamine into your system. The more dopamine circulated, the more you want or crave something. So, it’s now safe to say that when you “crave” ice cream, you only crave the dopamine release and are just fooling yourself with the ice cream part. Dopamine controls whether you want something, but not the feeling of liking or enjoying something. That neurochemical is called opiods. Opiods are your brains natural, all organic form of morphine and endorphins. Dopamine may tell you to do something, but opiods give you satisfaction to actions from dopamine. ======

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There's no such thing as a bad neurochemical or hormone, although either can become a problem when out of balance. Dopamine is absolutely necessary for your decision-making, happiness, and survival. Yet when it’s too low or too high (or when changes in its receptors alter your sensitivity), it becomes problematic. ======

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The key word on the list below is //bonding//. Bonding is more than a behavior. It is a mammalian program, the program that permits parenting and living in groups. When dopamine drops, you are likely to find your partner less rewarding—and your bond unravels. ======

**// Dopamine Levels (or altered sensitivity to dopamine) //**

 * ** Excess ** || ** Deficient ** || ** "Normal" ** ||
 * ====== Addictions ====== || ====== Addictions ====== || ====== Healthy //bonding// ====== ||
 * ====== Anxiety ====== || ====== Depression ====== || ====== Feelings of well-being, satisfaction ====== ||
 * ====== Compulsions ====== || ====== Anhedonia—no pleasure, world looks colorless ====== || ====== Pleasure, reward in accomplishing tasks ====== ||
 * ====== Sexual fetishes ====== || ====== Lack of ambition and drive ====== || ====== Healthy libido ====== ||
 * ====== Sexual addiction ====== || ====== Inability to "love" ====== || ====== Good feelings toward others ====== ||
 * ====== Unhealthy risk-taking ====== || ====== Low libido ====== || ====== Motivated ====== ||
 * ====== Gambling ====== || ====== Erectile dysfunction ====== || ====== Healthy risk taking ====== ||
 * ====== Compulsive activities ====== || ====== No remorse about personal behavior ====== || ====== Sound choices ====== ||
 * ====== Aggression ====== || ====== ADHD or ADD ====== || ====== Realistic expectations ====== ||
 * ====== Psychosis ====== || ====== Social anxiety disorder ====== || ====== Parent/child bonding ====== ||
 * ====== Schizophrenia ====== || ====== Sleep disturbances, "restless legs" ====== || ====== Contentment with "little" things ====== ||

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The chart above has evidence that high or low levels of dopamine—or even random surges—can break couples apart. Simply because we naturally are not designed with monogamy in mind. However, there is also a neurochemical with the ability to keep people together and level out their feelings of love and hate. Often called the “cuddle hormone” or the “bonding hormone”, oxytocin enables us to feel love for durations of time. This hormone is affiliated with the need for nurturing and generosity. ======

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Oxytocin chemicals are intended to bond us to our children and our mate for life. Friendships are also built from the neurochemical release of Oxytocin…but what happens when friends become friends with benefits? Bad things. However, engaging in sexual acts with increased affection keeps all of your neurochemicals balanced in a healthy manner and it also increases the intensity of your sexual experience. ======

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· Oxytocin reduces cravings. When scientists administered it to rodents who were addicted to cocaine, morphine, or heroin, the rats opted for less drugs, or showed fewer symptoms of withdrawal. (Kovacs, 1998) ======

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· This quality of oxytocin explains why companionship can increase longevity—even among those who are HIV positive (Young, 2004). Or speed recovery: wounded hamsters heal twice as fast when they are paired with a sibling, rather than left in isolation (DeVries, 2004). ======

· It may also explain why, among various species of primates, care-giving parents (whether male or female) live significantly longer. (Cal Tech, 1998)
· Oxytocin appears be a major reason that SSRI’s [Prozac-type drugs] ease depression, perhaps because high levels of cortisol are the chief culprits in depression and anxiety disorders. (Oxytocin counteracts cortisol's effects.) (Uvnas-Moberg, 1999) · Oxytocin increases sexual receptivity and counteracts impotence, which may be one reason why this other way of making love remains pleasurable. (Pedersen, C.A., 2002), (Arletti, 1997) []


 * Erogenous Zones**

There are parts of the body that, when stimulated, elicit sexual arousal.[1] These spots are called __erogenous zones__ or spots. Erogenous zones can be found all over a person’s body. In fact, you have nerve endings everywhere, all the way from the tip of your toes to the top of your head. The genitals are the most obvious erogenous zones, but many parts of the body not involved in reproduction are sensitive to sexual touch.[1] Body parts such as the arms or legs can contain some feeling when touched or stroked, while lips and necks can be very powerful depending on how they are treated.

Erogenous zones, if stimulated, can create sexual pleasure or provoke sensations and chemical reactions to other body parts. Interviews done by Alfred Kinsey showed that there is no part of the human body which is not sufficiently sensitive to effect erotic arousal for at least some individuals in the population.[5]


 * General spots**

You think you know where they want to be touched, but there's more than one erogenous zone.[3] When it comes to finding a person’s erogenous zones, gentle light touches on different spots of the body is all that is needed.

Starting from top to bottom, the head or scalp can be very sensitive to stimulation. For a woman, having her hair brushed can be a very sensual experience.[4] As for many men like to have a gentle head massage or scratching.[4]

Some of the most common spots for erogenous zones are found around the neck and head. Licking, kissing, nibbling and biting various parts, for some, can be a great pleasure. This includes, but is not limited to, the neck, the ears, the collar bone and the lips. The lips are erogenous zones which most men like to have kissed, licked or nibbled.[2] Our lips are just one of the many hot spots on out body because they hold so many different nerve endings.

Certain spots on one’s arm can be an erogenous zone. Rubbing, stroking, or light finger tracing the inside/underside of the forearm can send tingles or shivers through someone’s body while hand massages can feel like heaven for others. The tips of the fingers are another example of clusters of nerve endings, if trained right, people can feel great and powerful pleasure just from rubbing their fingertips correctly.

The small of a back and buttocks can be caressed, held, or griped by another for even more sensation. Massaging the back may not seem like an arousing feeling,but it will relax the partner and let their senses rise from the relaxation. The inside of the thigh as well is another erogenous zone both men and women enjoy to have kissed, traced and more to cause sexual arousal.


 * The Male and Female body**

The male and female body have similar and different erogenous zones. Yet when it comes to the genitals of both sexes, there are many differences.

For the male, the genitals are the major erogenous zone. Just around the shaft of the penis and the scrotum, the perineum and anus can become very sensitive to touch. The scrotum is the sack that holds the testicles. This is a very sensitive and very fragile part of a man's body.[4] While on the penis itself, the glans head contains the most nerves out of the entire body on a male. Men with foreskin have a more sensitive glans head and sometimes need to be handled more gently.[4]

The female anatomy on the other hand is not as sensitive as some might think. The mons pubis, labia majora, and labia minora are seen as some of the most sensitive parts (other than the clitoris). The clitoris is the most sensitive, nerve packed sex organ on a female. The clitoris contains more nerve endings than the glans head of a male. The breasts are another example of a major female erogenous zone. Caressing breasts causes hardening of nipples for the majority of women.[2]

Recourses for Erogenous Zones:

1:Sinclair Intimacy Institute. "Discovery Health "Erogenous Zones"" //Discovery Health "Health Guides"// Discovery Communications, 2002. Web. 9Nov. 2011. .

2:"The Body and Erogenous Zones | Kioskea Health." //Kioskea - Health and Wellbeing//. CCM-Benchmark Network, 6 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Nov. 2011..

3:"Err-otic." //EBSCOhost//. EBSCO Industries, June 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011..

4:"Sexual Anatomy." //SexInfo101.com//. KuMo Web CommunicationsCorporation. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. .

5:"The Kinsey Institute - Kinsey Study Data [Research Program]." //Indiana University Bloomington//. The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex,Gender, and Reproduction, Inc.®. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. .

When it comes to arousing men and women sexually, the differences might surprise you. For example: body language is a fantastic way to arouse or “turn on” one another. Body language has been around longer than verbal language has and many would say that women hold an advantage here due to their feminine form. Crossing her legs show off her muscles—which, to the male, signals a want to “untangle” the woman’s legs. Licking her lips, applying lipstick, or eating something…slowly might also draw attention to the sensuality of her face. And there is always the cliché of bare skin. Men find in oddly attractive to see skin sometimes…or all the time.
 * What Arouses Us? **

Men are equally capable for attracting a woman…or man. But the methods of their body language may change. Controlling your body movements as you walk, or perform any actions is attractive to women—because you’re in control. Another one is smoking. This may not be an obvious, or popular, method of body communication…but women, for the most part, enjoy watching a man smoke. Lastly, eye contact is huge. They say eyes are the window to your soul…but it’s true. It can turn a woman on faster than an oven…depending on the severity of the stare of course.

Some things that are easy to do that will increase your or someone else's sexual arousals are: Playing out another’s fantasies, having and/or developing your own fantasies, and using body oils. Playing out someone's fantasy is also a good way to sexually arouse someone.