More than a reflex: How the spine shapes male sex

Amazing stuff! What is the meaning of spineless! The spine is not as passive as previously believed. 

So what does the spinal cord do for women? It seems, this question will be reserved for future research. 

"For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behavior—arousal, courtship, and copulation—the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation. But a study ... challenges that tidy division. It reveals that a key spinal circuit is not only involved in ejaculation but also in arousal and shaping the choreography of sex, adding a surprising new dimension to our understanding of sexual behavior in mammals. ..."

"... “We were initially interested in female sexual behaviour”, ... “but it is difficult to pinpoint the moment of orgasm. In males, ejaculation is a clear and observable marker – you can literally see it in the muscle activity”. The team began with a deceptively simple question: which neurons control the muscle responsible for ejaculation? ..."

From the abstract:

"During sex, male arousal builds to the ejaculatory threshold, allowing genital sensory input to trigger ejaculation. While copulation and arousal are thought to be brain-regulated, ejaculation is a reflex controlled by a spinal circuit. In this framework, the spinal cord is assumed to be strongly inhibited by descending input until the ejaculatory threshold, playing no role in the regulation of copulatory behavior. However, this remains untested.

Here we mapped the spinal circuit controlling the bulbospongiosus muscle, essential for sperm expulsion in mice. Our findings show that bulbospongiosus muscle-motor neurons receive input from galanin-expressing neurons, which integrate genital sensory signals.

Stimulating these neurons induces bulbospongiosus activity, but responses vary with spinalization, internal state, and decrease with repeated stimulation.

Ablating galanin-positive neurons altered ejaculation latency and copulatory patterns. These results suggest that spinal circuits influence not only ejaculation but also copulation and arousal, challenging the traditional view of spinal control in copulation."

More than a reflex: How the spine shapes sex

When it comes to sex, the spinal cord doesn’t only control ejaculation

More than a reflex: how the spine shapes sex (original news release) "For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behaviour – arousal, courtship, and copulation – the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation. But a study from the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) challenges that tidy division. It reveals that a key spinal circuit is not only involved in ejaculation but also in arousal and shaping the choreography of sex, adding a surprising new dimension to our understanding of sexual behaviour in mammals."

A galanin-positive population of lumbar spinal cord neurons modulates sexual arousal and copulatory behavior in male mice

Fig. 3: Gal+ neurons and BSM-MNs receive sensory input from the penis.

How a survey of over 2,000 women in the 1920s changed the way Americans thought about female sexuality

Recommendable! This is about what is considered to be the first sexual revolution in the US!

How a survey of over 2,000 women in the 1920s changed the way Americans thought about female sexuality

Katharine Bement Davis was frustrated by the double standard that celebrated men’s sexual experiences and condemned those of women. 

Have scientists uncovered an alternative to condoms and vasectomies?

Good news! Hopefully, finally men have better options too! However, this is very early research!

Gender equality in contraceptives!

That men have been so dependent for so many years on women to effectively control reproduction without interfering with the joy of sex was hard to swallow (pardon my pun).

"... surveys show most American men are interested in using male contraceptives, yet they have almost no options. Recent attempts to develop drugs that block sperm production, maturation, or fertilization have had limited success, providing incomplete protection or severe side effects. New approaches to male contraception are needed, but because sperm development is so complex, researchers have struggled to identify parts of the process that can be safely and effectively tinkered with.

Now, scientists at the Salk Institute in California have found a new method of interrupting sperm production that is both non-hormonal and reversible. The study, just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the title “Targeting nuclear receptor corepressors for reversible male contraception,” has found a  new protein complex in regulating gene expression during sperm production. The researchers demonstrate that treating male mice with an existing class of drugs called HDAC (histone deacetylase) inhibitors can interrupt the function of this protein complex and block fertility without affecting libido.  ...

Salk scientists found that for this to work, retinoic acid receptors must bind with a protein called SMRT (silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors) that then recruits HDACs, and this complex of proteins goes on to synchronize the expression of genes that produce sperm. ..."

From the significance and abstract:

"Significance

With unintended pregnancies costing billions of dollars a year in the United States alone, the socioeconomic and health benefits of improved birth control cannot be overemphasized. Despite the pressing need for population control, male contraceptive options are limited. These rodent studies demonstrate reversible male contraception by targeting silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors-retinoid acid receptor signaling to identify a non-hormonal approach to male contraception.

Abstract

Despite numerous female contraceptive options, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended. Family planning choices for men are currently limited to unreliable condoms and invasive vasectomies with questionable reversibility. Here, we report the development of an oral contraceptive approach based on transcriptional disruption of cyclical gene expression patterns during spermatogenesis. Spermatogenesis involves a continuous series of self-renewal and differentiation programs of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) that is regulated by retinoic acid (RA)–dependent activation of receptors (RARs), which control target gene expression through association with corepressor proteins. We have found that the interaction between RAR and the corepressor silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT) is essential for spermatogenesis. In a genetically engineered mouse model that negates SMRT-RAR binding (SMRTmRID mice), the synchronized, cyclic expression of RAR-dependent genes along the seminiferous tubules is disrupted. Notably, the presence of an RA-resistant SSC population that survives RAR de-repression suggests that the infertility attributed to the loss of SMRT-mediated repression is reversible. Supporting this notion, we show that inhibiting the action of the SMRT complex with chronic, low-dose oral administration of a histone deacetylase inhibitor reversibly blocks spermatogenesis and fertility without affecting libido. This demonstration validates pharmacologic targeting of the SMRT repressor complex for non-hormonal male contraception."

Have scientists uncovered an alternative to condoms and vasectomies? - The Jerusalem Post Salk Institute scientists discover new target for reversible, non-hormonal male birth control

Salk Scientists Discover New Target For Reversible, Non-Hormonal Male Birth Control Oral administration of HDAC inhibitor blocked sperm production and fertility in mice without affecting libido

Targeting nuclear receptor corepressors for reversible male contraception (no public access)

Sperm, pictured inside the cross-sectioned tube of the epididymis, were not generated while mice took the HDAC inhibitor drug (top right), but after 60 days off the drug, spermatogenesis was recovered (bottom right). The left column shows sperm at the same time points in a mouse that did not receive the drug.

Pro Palestinian American Pornstar visits Tehran, Iran, lectures regime's victims on modesty

Headline of the day!

"... During her visit, Wright reportedly made comments blaming the safety risks women in Iran are exposed to on political dissidents for not obeying Iran's modesty laws, according to numerous media reports and social media posts made by American-Iranian activist and journalist Masih Alinejad. ..."

Pornstar visits Tehran, Iran, lectures regime's victims on modesty - The Jerusalem Post Whitney Wright visited the now-abandoned US embassy in Iran, where she criticized the regime for not having photos of PFLP terrorists.

Brazilian wandering spider venom aids erectile dysfunction treatment

Some men would try anything! 😊 You have to thank a lot of female researchers for this new treatment according to this video.

Sense of touch: Good vibrations and sexual pleasure

Amazing stuff!

"Sexual reproduction is essential for the survival of most species and is the principal driver of animal behavior and evolution. Mammals evolved to have elaborate mating rituals that involve visual, auditory, and olfactory displays. One of the most important elements of mating and copulation is touch, and for many humans, vibration too. Piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 2 (PIEZO2) is a fundamental transducer of touch and vibration for the sensory neurons that innervate the skin. Although there is considerable literature on the role of PIEZO2 in various bodily functions, less is known about its role in genital touch. On page 906 of this issue, Lam et al. (1) reveal the necessity of PIEZO2 for sexual touch and copulation in mice and humans. Their results both illustrate how sensory neurons in the genital sub-regions can detect gentle stimuli that promote sexual response, and suggest possible therapeutic targets for sexual dysfunction."

From the editor's note and the abstract:

"Editor’s summary

It is well known that the genitals are unusually sensitive, and that genital touch is crucial for mating and associated pleasure, but the underlying basis is not completely understood. By studying mice and humans with a rare inherited mechanosensory syndrome, Lam et al. identified a mechanism involving the mechanoreceptor PIEZO2 that is responsible for determining genital sensitivity ... Their results highlight the importance of touch for driving physiological responses needed for sexual function. The identification of PIEZO2 and a specific type of touch neuron as key mediators might help in the development of therapeutic approaches for both hypo- and hypersensitivity that interfere with the enjoyment of sex. ...

Abstract

Despite the potential importance of genital mechanosensation for sexual reproduction, little is known about how perineal touch influences mating. We explored how mechanosensation affords exquisite awareness of the genitals and controls reproduction in mice and humans. Using genetic strategies and in vivo functional imaging, we demonstrated that the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO2 (piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 2) is necessary for behavioral sensitivity to perineal touch. PIEZO2 function is needed for triggering a touch-evoked erection reflex and successful mating in both male and female mice. Humans with complete loss of PIEZO2 function have genital hyposensitivity and experience no direct pleasure from gentle touch or vibration. Together, our results help explain how perineal mechanoreceptors detect the gentlest of stimuli and trigger physiologically important sexual responses, thus providing a platform for exploring the sensory basis of sexual pleasure and its relationship to affective touch."

Good vibrations | Science The role of a mechanosensitive ion channel in sexual behavior is unveiled

PIEZO2 and perineal mechanosensation are essential for sexual function (no public access)

34 year old Spanish Minister of Equality reportedly claims 'children ... can love or have sexual relations with whoever they want'

Witness the ongoing self destruction of Western civilization! She is a psychologist [???] and spokeswomen of the left-wing Podemos party.

"The age of sexual consent in Spain is 16" (Source) But in e.g. Germany it is even 14 (Source)

"... Irene Montero, the 34-year-old minister of equality in Spain, recently said in Spanish at a recent legislative meeting: "All girls, boys, children in this country have the right to know their own body, to know that no adult can touch their body if they don't want to and that is a form of violence, they have the right to know that they can love or have sexual relations with whoever they want, based on consent." ..."

Spanish government official reportedly claims 'children ... can love or have sexual relations with whomever they want' - TheBlaze

Pompeiian Sexuality by National Geographic

Recommendable, but too short! Perhaps even still prudish? :-)