June 2012

What You Didn’t Know About Pheromones

Published on June 26, 2012

3126 views

It seems we are constantly searching for companionship, but, now, people are choosing to rely on their animal instincts, basing partner selection on pheromones, as opposed to the comprehensive algorithm used by dating sites. This new method of socializing is called a pheromone party.

What’s a Pheromone Party?

Pheromone parties are based on smell, and while not entirely science-based, research has shown that humans do respond to pheromones. In fact, we have a specialized region in the olfactory system, the vomeronasal organ (VNO), that is responsible for pheromone detection.

The VNO, which is located on your nasal septum, may play a factor in how individuals select potential partners. In one study, women responded more favorably to men when the women were exposed to male pheromones.

Pheromones are mainly produced in the pubic and armpit region, but since the idea of sniffing undies seems to cross the line, pheromone parties opt for sniffing T-shirts instead. Pheromone party-goers bring T shirts they’ve slept in, stick them in a bag that is passed around at the party, in hopes that someone will find their scent pleasing.

Shortcomings of Relying on Pheromones

There are potential flaws with this pheromone selection party, which is why it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

You May Not Be Chosen Based on Your Pheromones

A T shirt sniffer may be drawn to the smell of the perfume worn by the owner of the T shirt, as opposed to actually being stimulated by their pheromones.

The person who never showered, on the other hand, may not be chosen at all, regardless of how tasty their pheromones really are.

Your Menstrual Cycle Impacts Your Pheromones

Studies show that during the first half of the menstrual cycle, the amount of pheromones produced increases, whereas pheromone production decreases in the second half of the menstrual cycle.

The best time to go to a pheromone party is when you’re producing pheromones. You can also sleep with the T shirt during peak pheromone production and freeze the shirt until the party starts.

Pheromones May Impact your Menstrual Cycle

The possibility that pheromones affected behavior was first considered because women’s periods would synchronize. Turns out that rats produce one pheromone that shortens the menstrual cycle, and another that lengthens the menstrual cycle, until the two females cycle together.

Planning on going to a pheromone party with your friend? Spend a significant amount of time together prior to the party to ensure synched pheromone production.

Oral Contraceptives May Also Change Pheromone Production

One study has shown that women who take contraceptives produced a lower overall content of pheromones. Way to be safe, ladies. Unfortunately, you can’t produce as much of the alluring chemical, so you may want to stick to online dating.

Pheromones For Fun

The thing is, it’s just a party. Judith Prays started this fad when she recalled how drawn she was to the scent of a former boyfriend. She doesn’t really imagine it’s a place to meet “the one,” but it may be a place to strike up a conversation and meet some new people, and laugh at the person who put their nose in your smelly shirt.

I’m Sexy and I Know It, Sometimes – Sexual Attraction Chemistry

by Chrisalbeth Guillermo, MPH, OMS-II

Published on June 26, 2012

3042 views

sexual attraction and oral contraceptives

Have you, or possibly your partner, ever wondered if there really was a link between your menstrual cycle and sexual attraction? Perhaps you have noticed that during certain times of the month something is not quite right and whatever it is, it seems to affect your ability to concentrate. Scientists have as well.

Evolution, the Menstrual Cycle, and Sexual Attraction

Since the dawn of humankind, women have been programmed to think and act in such a way that helps us find the perfect mate with the best genes to make the best babies; survival of the fittest. However, the conditions and interactions are not as clear-cut today as they were during caveman times. Women are educated and have careers. We work hard and we play harder. In other words, we might be too busy to think of finding a man and having children, at least on a conscious level.

Researchers have found that reproductive hormones are still at play when it comes to how we feel about certain situations, view the world, and interact with others. During the week before ovulation, women have improved memory, perhaps to signify the right time to find “The One,” but also to help you make better decisions and navigate your environment. Near ovulation, women may have a heightened sense of smell, possibly to sniff out potential toxins. Additionally, several studies have shown that women who are in the fertile window tend to dress and feel more attractive as compared to other times in their cycles. A major drawback to this process is that some women may be highly sensitive to to the cyclic rise and fall of their hormones and experience negative mood symptoms, increased food cravings, and susceptibility to stress, particularly during the premenstrual phase.

Oral Contraceptives and Sexual Attraction

What about the pill? Oral contraceptives (OCs) contain synthetic hormones that may also affect women’s social behavior and psychological functioning. In my own research, I have found that women who are on the pill show greater attraction toward current and potential mates across all phases of the cycle. Naturally, this could be due to the simple fact that women using OCs expect to have more sex than those who are not. However, we also found that an increase in androgens, a side effect of the pill, was significantly related to this increase in attraction.

Because of our genetic make-up, women must go through regular shifts in their cognitive abilities, moods, and behavior. In other words, we think, feel, and react differently based on what our hormones are doing. This may translate to women’s approach to relationships, sexual arousal, and motivation to seek out mates. But also, it affects how we work, talk to friends, and deal with our problems.

Does this mean women should plan their activities accordingly? That may be a tad extreme, but maybe it will help both men and women understand why sometimes we are just not in the mood.

Of Love and Passion: It’s All in Your Head

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on June 21, 2012

2101 views

Love is a Habit

Reviewing imaging studies on love and sex, researchers from Concordia University have begun to delineate the neural pathways associated with these two activities. Though love and sex show similar neural activation patterns there are some distinctions. Both sexual desire and love activate the insula and the striatum, but as sexual desire progresses to love there is more activation within the specific regions of the striatum associated with habit and drug addiction. Says Professor Pfaus, the lead author of the study “Love is actually a habit that is formed from sexual desire as desire is rewarded. It works the same way in the brain as when people become addicted to drugs.”

Falling in Love Can be Addictive

Falling in love is quick, only a fifth of a second per a recent meta- analysis and hard-wired in the brain to be pleasurable and addictive, finds Professor Stephanie Ortigue from Syracuse University, author of a recent meta-analysis of fMRI data and love. The meta-analysis showed that falling in love activates 12 regions of the brain and elicits a number of neurochemical reactions designed to ensure pleasure and habit including dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and vasopression.

Heartbreak is Painful – Literally

When love ends, it causes real pain. Researchers from the University of Michigan compared fMRIs of participants in physical pain versus those suffering from emotional pain and found that as far as the brain was concerned, the two types of pain were no different – 88% of the time.

Just like everything else, habits change brain chemistry. Changing that brain chemistry back or re-adjusting to a new status quo after a break up, from the brain and body’s perspective, is similar to drug withdrawal.

Here is a great Ted Talk by anthropologist Helen Fisher on the gender differences and the evolution of human emotions.

Flaming Thunderbolts and Other Dangly Bits

by Lauren Dillon

Published on June 21, 2012

2478 views

“If we shadows have offended, think but this; and all is mended that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear and this weak and idle theme no more yielding but a dream.”

In the beginning, there was chaos. Chaos was darkness, the waters of the abyss. The first god, Amun, arose from the waters using nothing but his own strength to give form to his body. Amun existed alone. All was his. Yesterday and tomorrow were his. Alone, he took his penis in his hand. He made love to his fist. He made his exquisite joy with his fingers. And from the flame of the fiery blast which he kindled with his hand, the universe was formed.

I set out to write an essay on women’s roles in ancient fertility rites. After all, the male of our species and his dangly bits have been lauded and attended throughout history: from the Egyptian first god, Amun, the above-mentioned fist-lover; to Priapus, the eternally erect son of Aphrodite (shown left weighing his penis against grain); to the Hindu god Shiva, whose penis, or lingam, was so hot it caught fire, fire only contained when a vagina, or loni, appeared.

As far as excuses go, this one takes the cake. Yes, we know hormones can make our wild testosterone-crazed men do stupid things but, “I had to put it in because my dong was on fire” doesn’t cut it. A Shiva worshipper, I shall never be.

After lots of reading, I discovered one unifying attribute: Men, whether they are gods or mere mortals, think their penises are all that. Some, but not all, women agree. I decided to, er, explore the issue (my husband is out of town).

Back to Shiva. He was the god of destruction and change. Because of control issues (his goddess wife was destroying more than he was), he turned himself into a corpse to fool and stop her. Thinking him dead, however, his wife, the goddess Kali, squatted over his body, ripped out and ate his organs, and then mounted his still erect lingam to complete the cycle of creation.

Which kind of supports man’s my-penis-is-awesome theory. The rest of him? Not so much. As evidence, this statue representing the old dick (along with handy fire extinguisher).

Today, Egypt is primarily an Islam nation (and I am NOT going there, thank you very much). Yet around 2000 BC, the Egyptian god of fertility, Min (apparently he didn’t need to over-compensate name-wise) was the principal deity of the Egyptian empire. Artwork and statuary feature Min holding his penis in one hand and a threshing flail in the other. (He was apparently into dominant/submissive relationships; see “50 Shades of Grey”, “The Story of O”.)

During the coronation ceremony of every new pharaoh, Min supervised from on-high as the ascending pharaoh proved that he could ejaculate … in front of people. Centuries before Playboy, Min was there to make sure everything worked as designed (and possibly to ensure no new universes were created from the fiery blast of hand to fist love). I’m not sure what happened to Min; however, his temple is somewhere beneath the modern city of Akhmim. It contains his statue, all reported 55 feet of it.

Just think about that schwanzstucker, Ladies.

If we journey farther east, we come to Japan. We enter Japan. We’re in Japan. (I’ve been reading and writing about this too long; every phrase has sexual connotations). Which leads to the first of two tales of Japanese phallic worship:

450 years ago, two rival politicians’ race turned ugly (this seems redundant). Their feud escalated to death threats against one another as well as against their sons, forcing them to hide their offspring. One of the men, Mr. Oji, decided further camouflage was necessary and disguised his son as a girl. By the time the other man, Mr. Sue, found the girl-who-was-really-a-boy, he had worked himself into such a frenzy that he killed the poor child by cutting off his head and then, for good measure, his penis. When the news got out, the local villagers decided to craft wood and stone phalli as replacements.

But not crania. Which leads me to assume Japanese men, at the least, let their little heads do the thinking for their big ones.

Those locals had so much fun making penises that, to this day, they still are doing it. They make a big shrine to the Almighty Cock, fill it with penises, and then, entrepreneurial as can be, make and sell replicas so that people from around the world will visit Japanese Cock Country Jamboree.

But wait, there’s more…

In yet another area of Japan, they have Penis Parades! And they don’t even remember why! The Hounen Fertility Festival gets arousing at 10 am when the sake comes out, and then again at 2 pm when Shinto priests bless the crowd before shouldering a 9 foot, 620 pound schlong. Then, they pray for a fertile year (and a merciful hangover).

It’s like Carnival … with penises. Tastes great, less filling!

Finally, we come to Bhutan. The land of Buddhist monks where at least one of whom was very, very horny and quite the ladies’ man. Yes, Drukpa Kunley promised women that the way to Nirvana was through relationships with his penis, which he nicknamed “The Flaming Thunderbolt.”

Really? Most guys use a simple monosyllabic name like Fred or Chuck. This guy must have had one serious, um, ego. AND he had women pay him for his services in beer! Richard Gere has nothing on Drukpa Kunley.

Somehow, I suspect through sheer balls, Drukpa became part of Buddhist mythology, supposedly defeating evil demonesses by beating them in the face and gagging them, both with his Flaming Thunderbolt. His image, yes THAT image, can be found painted upon homes and buildings for good luck and to ward off evil.

See?

So what have I learned? That, on the surface, men do believe their penises are all that. They start worlds with them, fight enemies with them, and, occasionally, satisfy women with them (if they have skills or possess Flaming Thunderbolts). The Japanese fill woods with carvings of them and the Bhutanese paint them on their houses. Anthony Weiner and Brett Favre tweet pictures of them. And for whom? Sorry, gentlemen, but most woman need the woo with the woohoo. Your penis does not define you.

Guys, we love you all despite and sometimes because of your flaws and insecurities. Your penises are indeed important for that whole continuance of the human race thing; our vaginas are as well. Yet, you don’t see yonic images everywhere (unless you’re at a Georgia O’Keefe exhibit). We love your big heads and your big hearts – why not show them off now and then? Mine does and I love him all the more for it.

The ridiculous bit of satire below does not reflect the opinions of Lucine Biotechnology nor its associates. It is meant to amuse and, hopefully, entertain. Lauren is our Puck and we only let her out on certain days.

Possible Relief for Postmenopausal Vaginal Atrophy

by Lisbeth Prifogle, MFA

Published on June 20, 2012

2074 views

In Elena Perez’s article on MRIs conducted while women masturbate, she explained that the peptide hormone that increases pain thresholds and suppresses fear, oxytocin, is released in women during sex and orgasms.

A small study using topical oxytocin gel on women suffering from postmenopausal vaginal atrophy (symptoms of vaginal atrophy include vaginal dryness, pain, itching, discomfort and bleeding during intercourse) had remarkably positive results. Larger studies are in progress to establish the possibility of using oxytocin as a clinical treatment for vaginal atrophy.

For more information on this study, click here.

For Elena’s article on mapping out the female orgasm, click here.

Dad and the Secret Land of Dr. Pepper

by Lisbeth Prifogle, MFA

Published on June 15, 2012

1637 views

“Let’s frighten the dragons.” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted,
“Shoo! Silly old dragons!” and off they flew.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”
-A.A. Milne

“Hey Libby.” Dad is outside the screen door of our camper. His face is broken up by little silver squares. Mom holds my baby brother Kyle in her arms on the pull out couch. Luke and Megan are under the covers, cuddled up on top of her.

“Libby, come here,” his voice is hushed, but urgent; gentle, but demanding.

Dad is never interested in watching the old, taped-off-TV movies Mom plays every night on our camping trips. I’m not either, and just try to stay awake as long as Megan and Luke. I always drift off and then Dad has to carry me to my bottom bunk of the bunk bed.

I slide off the couch, pretending that I’m a snake and no longer have any bones. I sliver out to Dad trying not to draw Megan or Luke’s attention. He is getting on his bike and motions for me to do the same.

“Come on Libby, let’s go for a ride,” he whispers through the dewy, dark air.

I get on my pink and purple Huffy bike. There are neon plastic reflectors on the spokes that make a clicking sound when the wheels spin – not a good getaway vehicle. I race off to catch Dad and hope that my absence remains unnoticed by my siblings.

“Where are we going?” I ask in between breaths as I finally get to coast along side.

“Shhh, this is going to be our secret.”

A whole world opens up with that word, secret.

“Ok,” I push out the syllables through the gaps between my teeth. I let him lead to show me to whatever secret place he’s taking me to. I hope it will have Aslan or a luck-dragon, or some kind of labyrinth in it.

We pull our bikes up to the shower house on the other end of the campground and stop. Dad digs through his pocket and pulls out two quarters. He hands one to me and I drop it in. He pushes the Dr. Pepper button and the magical world of sugar, caffeine and carbonation clanks down and drops into the slot at my scraped knees. Mom never buys Dr. Pepper, only Coke, and that is only on camping trips when we are allowed 1 soda per day. We take turns sipping from the aluminum can. I push my sun-bleached, white-blonde hair behind my ears and guzzle the sweet syrup. Dad doesn’t say much, and neither do I. He points out the Big and Little Dipper. I act like I can see what he sees, even though I only see a gazillion tiny stars.

“We should probably get back to camp. Mom might wonder where we ran off to.”

I shake my head in agreement.

“Don’t tell anyone. It’ll be our secret. If you tell Megan and Luke they’ll want to come and I can’t afford that many pops.”

“Ok, Daddy,” I try to smile, but my cheeks hurt from sunburn.

We fly back from our world; a parallel world full of eternal happiness and endless Dr. Peppers. As we ride, mosquitoes buzz and lightening bugs float in the sky like blinking Christmas lights.

The next night, after a day of hiking, lake swimming, bike riding, and fossil hunting, Mom sits down to nurse Kyle and watch a movie with Megan and Luke.

“Psst, Libby,” Dad whispers from outside. His face is broken into a thousand little squares. “Come out here for a second, I want to show you something,” he says smiling. I slither off the couch and jump out of the camper. This time I don’t have to sneak out because I know Dad won’t let Megan or Luke tag along. My bare feet feet tingle on cold, damp grass as I pull up my Strawberry Shortcake nightgown to mount my bike and follow Dad to the secret land of Dr. Pepper.

Happy Father’s Day!
Thanks for showing me the secret world of imagination,Dad.
I love you!

What’s Up With All the Testosterone Ads?

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on June 14, 2012

4045 views

Once upon a time, our understanding of the role that testosterone played in men’s (and women’s health) was restricted almost entirely to sexual differentiation, male sexual behavior, big muscles and aggression. Certainly, everyone is aware of the steroid doping scandals that have plagued professional and amateur sports for the last two decades. To the general public and to much of the medical profession, testosterone was dangerous (and in large amounts, it certainly can be). But now, the tides are changing and testosterone gels are being marketed aggressively to the average Joe who just wants to reclaim his masculinity. Combine the marketing for testosterone with Viagra and Cialis ads, and it becomes clear that male sexual functioning is all the rage these days. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see an ad for one of the many testosterone replacement products.

Why is testosterone so popular?

It turns out that testosterone, like other steroid hormones, perform a complex set of functions related to health; ranging from cardiovascular and metabolic regulation, to cerebrovascular and neurotransmitter modulation. Despite the marketing (more testosterone equals better sex drive and a better physique), sex hormones are not just about sex or big muscles.

It turns out that low testosterone is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased insulin resistance and depressed mood. In vets, low testosterone is associated with an increased risk of PTSD, metabolic syndrome and mortality from any cause. While researchers and functional medical specialists have understood the importance of steroid hormones for years (all the way back to Hans Selye), this knowledge has been slow to transfer into mainstream clinical health; that is, until it could be commercialized into libido enhancer.

When testosterone concentrations wane as men age, the risk for many of the diseases of aging increase (cardiovascular disease, stroke, etc). Much like the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribed for female menopause, pharmaceutical companies are hoping that testosterone replacement eases the symptoms of andropause (low libido, depression, weight gain) and reduces the risk for cardiovascular and other disease processes. Though it is too early to tell if testosterone replacement will follow the same over-marketing that HRT did. (HRT was first marketed to enhance libido and general health, then gradually became the panacea for all diseases of aging. The over-reach was not supported by science and subsequently was followed by billions in lawsuits. A gradual retraction of uses and re-positioning as simply a medication to be taken as briefly as possible to help with hot flashes is now marketed). What is clear, is that the role of hormones in health is becoming more mainstream. For that, we thank the gods of waning male virility.

For more on the role of testosterone in health:

Testosterone: What it Does and Doesn’t Do

Andropause

Andropause: A British Perspective

Male Menopause

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Male Breast Cancer: Know the Facts

by Amy Roost

Published on June 12, 2012

3004 views

Father’s Day is a day when we honor the men in our life. What better way to do so than to inform ourselves about potential health risks men face?

One rare, though oft ignored, due to its taboo nature, disease is male breast cancer. Men, like women, suffer from breast cancers that infiltrate the ductal tissue, lymph nodes and nipple. Also, like breast cancer in women, male breast cancer is marked by uncontrolled growth of the abnormal cells.

Incidence

Male breast cancer makes up less than 1% of all breast cancers. Approximately 2,000 cases of male breast cancer are reported each year in the U.S. Roughly 400 men die each year from the disease. It occurs most often in older men between the ages of 60 and 70. The cause is not entirely known, but both environmental influences and genetic factors likely play a role and as with women, hormones influence the growth of certain cancers. An interesting note: although male breast cancer remains relatively rare, the incidence of male breast cancer has increased by 26% since 1975 according to data from the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

Risk Factors

Men who have previously undergone radiation therapy to treat malignancies in the chest area (for example, Hodgkin’s lymphoma) have an increased risk for the development of breast cancer.

The majority of breast cancers in men are hormone receptor positive. Remember, men have the same compliment of steroid hormones as women. They differ only in the concentrations/levels. Women have higher estrogens and men higher androgens. As many as 77% of tumors are either estrogen receptor-positive, meaning that they grow in response to stimulation by endogenous estrogens such as estradiol and estrone or exogenous synthetic estrogens, or are progesterone receptor positive, tumors grow in response to endogenous progesterone or synthetic progestins/progestagens. There is also evidence linking metastatic prostate cancer to male breast cancer and the medications associated with the treatment of prostrate cancer. Additional conditions associated with an increased rate of breast cancer include: Klinefelter’s syndrome, cirrhosis of the liver and obesity.

Klinefelter’s syndrome is an inherited condition affecting about one in 1,000 men. Men with Klinefelter’s syndrome have inherited an extra female X chromosome, resulting in an abnormal sex chromosome makeup. Klinefelter’s patients produce high levels of estradiol and develop enlarged breasts. Men with Klinefelter’s have a 50 times greater risk for development of breast cancer than that of normal men.

Cirrhosis of the liver can result from alcohol abuse, viral hepatitis, or rare genetic conditions that result in accumulation of toxic substances within the liver. With cirrhosis, liver function is compromised and the levels of male and female hormones in the bloodstream are altered. Men with cirrhosis of the liver have higher blood levels of estradiol and estrone and have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Obesity. Men with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 have twice the breast cancer rate than men with BMIs <25.

Genetics. Men who have several female relatives with breast cancer also have an increased risk for development of breast cancer. About 15% of breast cancers in men are thought to be attributable to mutations in the breast cancer-associated BRCA-2 gene.

Finasteride, a drug used to treat baldness (Propecia) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (Proscar), may be associated with an increased risk for male breast cancer. Further studies are needed to clarify whether a causal relationship between the drug and the disease actually exists.

Symptoms of Male Breast Cancer

The most notable symptoms of male breast cancer include:

Lumps
Changes to the nipple (inversion) or breast skin
Pain or discharge of fluid from the nipple
Enlarged lymph nodes under the arms.

Of note, men with breast cancer experience bloody nipple discharge and inversion more commonly than women.

Treatment for male breast cancer is usually a mastectomy. Other treatments include radiation, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy.

This Father’s Day, ask yourself if the man in your life may be at risk. If he is, have a conversation with him about what you’ve just learned. Who knows, you may save a life, and wouldn’t that be a great Father’s Day gift?

What’s a Pheromone Party?

Shortcomings of Relying on Pheromones

You May Not Be Chosen Based on Your Pheromones

Your Menstrual Cycle Impacts Your Pheromones

Pheromones May Impact your Menstrual Cycle

Oral Contraceptives May Also Change Pheromone Production

Pheromones For Fun

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Evolution, the Menstrual Cycle, and Sexual Attraction

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Love is a Habit

Falling in Love Can be Addictive

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Why is testosterone so popular?

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We Need Your Help

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Incidence

Risk Factors

Symptoms of Male Breast Cancer

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