About This Quiz
Forget about hearts and flowers and poetry. Love is all in your head -- your brain actually. So let's strip out the romance and get down to the neurochemicals and physiology that release a swarm of butterflies when encountering a new crush.Although the average ejaculate contains about 150 million sperm, only a few dozen will complete the arduous journey all the way to the egg.
Between 10 and 15 percent of adult women report anorgasmia, or never having an orgasm.
A 2008 headline-sparking genetic investigation out of Sweden identified allele 334, a genetic variation associated with male infidelity. Allele 334 interferes with the brain’s processing of vasopressin, a neurochemical associated with monogamous pair bonding.
Advertisement
A 2011 survey from Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion found that 70 percent of men welcome sex toy assistance in the bedroom.
Locking lips with a fellow is like taking a testosterone pill, since guys pass it along in their spit.
During the early attachment phase of love, serotonin takes a back seat, residing at low levels, while other reward-regulating chemicals take over. As a result of that serotonin dampening, people become borderline obsessed with their beloveds, unable to focus or eat whenever apart.
Advertisement
The clitoris is an incredibly sensitive sex organ, and its external hooded glans is packed with 8,000 nerve endings.
Oxytocin is especially potent in the female body, washing over the brain during a climax as well as after childbirth, bonding mother and baby.
Only 3 to 5 percent of mammalian species practice lifelong social monogamy, sticking to the same pair bond for the life term.
Advertisement
A 2011 study conducted at Pennsylvania State University found that male college students were more likely to fall in love and drop the magic three words sooner than their female co-eds.
Approximately two-thirds of adulterous men didn't think they would ever cheat on their partners. Women, on the other hand, tend to anticipate their cheating behavior before it happens.
People's pupils dilate rather than constrict when they're looking at someone who rings their bell. Moreover, heterosexual men find women with wider pupils more feminine and attractive.
Advertisement
The female study sample reported 12 dates as the appropriate amount of time to wait before having sex, compared to men who preferred to sleep over after eight dates.
Based on 1994 survey data from British households, about 1.5 percent of people have never felt sexual attraction to men or women.
Most men apparently have better things to do than think about sex every 7 seconds. For instance, a study published in 1990 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior asked 49 male college students to tally up their sexual fantasies over a week, and the results averaged to just 7.5 sexy thoughts per day, which works out to once every 3.2 hours.
Advertisement
During early-stage romantic love -- scientific terminology for the honeymoon phase -- the brain releases norepinephrine whenever we’re around a love interest, amping our heart rate and shaking us into action.
A recent Australian study at last debunked the popular correlation between sperm quality and vocal tone.
Women's peak fertility can result in a range of interesting behaviors, including shopping for new outfits and wearing more makeup. One study also found that ovulating women are more likely to cheat on their current partners.
Advertisement
Of course, heterosexual women want handsome hunks by their sides, but the nose might know better than the eyes. Research has found that the female body innately "sniffs" out a man's genetic compatibility, and those with the most pleasing musk are better candidates for having healthier offspring.
Although oxytocin and vasopressin initially establish the romantic bond between two people, dopamine is what refreshes the romance as the years wear on. Brain scan studies of happily married couples have demonstrated how their dopamine reward system lights up in response to merely seeing a picture of their 'til-death beloved.