The Standard Wisdom (which Aphrodisiology has long challenged) is that Viagra is not a true aphrodisiac. Most of the pharmacy geeks have claimed that these ED drugs simply improve blood flow to the penis, but do not increase libido or emotions related to love. New research finds that viagra does increase arousal in the brain. A team from the University of Wisconsin found that Viagra makes certain nerves in the brain more likely to fire, releasing more of the oxytocin hormone that is associated with intimacy, arousal and social bonding.

Further Rantings of a (Passionately) Mad Scientist

The basic problem is rooted deep in western thought - it grows out of the idea that the mind and body are distinct things that can be neatly separated, and that consciousness exists only in the brain. That's wrong. The brain is one (very essential) part of the body, but it can only be understood as part of a whole system called the body. The brain is responsible for higher levels of consciousness, but much of our essential consciousness begin at the sense organs. Some nerves or brain structures are more active during sex, but there is no 'sex center' of the brain. Good sex cannot be separated from touch, or temperature or other sensual inputs.

This new study from Wisconsin suggests that viagra works directly in the brain. But even if that drug was unable to cross into the brain, it would still have an effect through the nerves that go from the groin to the brain. Most men could tell you that any medicine that causes more hard-ons will lead to more sexual thoughts, which will push the brain towards arousal, which will increase the levels of certain hormones and neurotransmitters and ultimately change the neural circuits in the brain.

Sexperts and love-gurus are fond of saying that the largest sex organ is the brain. This statement is correct. But sex does not occur only in the brain - the gentle caresses across the stomach, down the side of the leg ... those have very physical components.

The sexual capacity of a disembodied brain would be limited. Cut off from the nerves in the groin and skin, the sense of sexual touch would gradually wither. Deprived of sex hormones from the testicles or ovaries, libido would drop. The 'brain-only' paradigm is a failure, yet is still widespread in our cultural thinking.

Will Viagra be used to treat low libido in women? Hard to say. Most of the research has focused on men and their anatomical response to the drug. There are fewer studies on women, and those have been mixed. We know that arousal in women is more complicated. But there are some studies that show viagra can lead to moderate improvements in female sexuality. And some women with normal or high libido's have taken PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra, and reported that it did charge things up in some ways.

I'm willing to bet that ten years from now, the pharmacologists and doctors will not see Viagra so much as a drug exclusively for men's plumbing. It can improve sexuality. In more ways than one. Viagra is a true aphrodisiac. It is not Love Potion #9. It's not a vitamin that everyone should take. It is a real-world tool that can improve love and sex in some people.

External Links

• Blockade of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Enhances Rat Neurohypophysial Excitability and Electrically-Evoked Oxytocin Release. The Wisconsin Study - dense reading, but the conclusions are clear.