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January 27th, 2012
07:10 AM ET
Why I orgasmed in an MRI scannerKayt Sukel is a passionate science writer and the author of "Dirty Minds: How our brains influence love, sex and relationships" - an edgy, irreverent book that examines all the ways our neurons can wreak havoc with our hearts.
That is, as background research for my book, "Dirty Minds: How our brains influence love, sex and relationships," I participated in a study at Rutgers University where scientists measured the activity in my brain as I self-stimulated to an orgasm. I wasn’t the first woman to participate in one of these studies - and I won’t be the last. But what I didn’t expect was so much outrage about sex research in general. Time and time again, regardless of the publication discussing my fMRI orgasm, commenters wrote things like, “If only researchers were as interested in finding a cure for cancer,” and “I can’t believe my tax dollars are going to pay for such useless research.” How can the study of human sexuality be considered useless? This is something that is prevalent in each and every one of our lives. When we’re not having sex, we’re talking about it. When we’re not talking about it, we’re thinking about it. And when we’re not thinking about it, we worry that something is wrong with us. Sex is a primary source of human motivation and can change the way we act and the way we feel in quite dramatic ways. And this isn’t something that occurs solely in the privacy of our bedrooms: You see sex at play in advertising and marketing, in problems in the work place, in self-esteem and identity, in pleasure and reward, and also in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Human sexuality has direct influence over so many aspects of day-to-day life. Understanding such a universal phenomenon is never useless. Yet, many want to discount its importance - and its study. In the 1940s and 1950s, Alfred Kinsey, esteemed biologist and founder of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, pioneered the study of sexual behavior with the publication of the Kinsey Reports. That work was the first of its kind: a systematic, scientific approach to understanding variation in normal sexual behavior. And, thankfully, his work has inspired countless brave scientists in the decades since to buck the status quo and study human sexuality. Yet, while we’ve come a long way in our understanding the biology of sex, there is still plenty left to discover. We now have a good deal of data on the mechanics of sexual behavior. But as anyone who has ever been involved in a sexual relationship knows, there’s a lot more to sex than pure mechanics - a heck of a lot more. The blossoming field of neuroscience, including neuro-imaging studies like the orgasm one I participated in as well as cellular and molecular research, is now offering us a new window of understanding into age-old questions about sex and related behaviors by focusing on all the ways our brains influence our behaviors. During the course of my research for "Dirty Minds," I asked neuroscientific researchers about the greatest challenges involved in studying human sexuality. I expected to hear concerns about finding study participants willing to be honest about their sex lives or if what was learned in the laboratory could really be applied to real-world behaviors. But unanimously, the scientists I talked to said their greatest challenge was finding research grants and financial support for their work. Because so many of us are peevish about the study of sex, funding agencies can be, too. But none of us should be. Human sexuality is important - and its study is something we should all get behind. Because we can’t begin to have discussions about how to best deal with problems concerning sexual behavior, sexual function and sexual intimacy until we have a better handle on what’s normal. Time and time again, I’m asked how I managed to have an orgasm in an fMRI scanner. But that’s not the right question. The important question is why I had an orgasm in an fMRI scanner. And that’s to help further our understanding of orgasm and human sexuality. When I say I came for the science - I mean it. And it’s my hope that more people will do the same in the future.
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Let me just get this out of the way upfront: I had an orgasm in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner.
total waste of science.
i bet you orgasmed pretending you were receiving an4l s3x weren't you?
And with a screen name of Badonkadonk, naturally i trust your opinion on what is a waste of science.
well said dseeburg
Man, there are so many weird, creepy people on the internet.
sorry, i don't buy it. anyone who knows about MRIs (and orgasms) knows you cannot move even in the slightest bit or else it throws off the results. how exactly then, did you accomplish this while remaining completely still?
MikeCollins - practice. And a special mask. the Guardian did a big report on it awhile back ttp://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/nov/16/orgasm-mri-scanner
Mike, in another article it said she practiced a lot by taping a small bell (from her cat's collar) to her head. At first it would ring a lot but over time she got better and better at staying still. And her head was in some type of contraption they built for her.
I ran a similar experiment in my bathroom last night. I'm thinking about getting a government grant to further my studies.
if you are a girl and reasonable good looking I will be your assistant
Not a girl. Keep it moving. Nothing to see here.
lol...do you -really- need a government grant for a handful of tissues and a small jar of Vaseline?
LadyDyeAgnostic, we don't use vasoline. it's petrolium based and you can't wash it off. personally, i use my hair conditioner in the shower.
jim-
shaving creme, specifically in gel form, works best.
Do you have an MRI machine in your bathroom?
Govt grant or not, I think its awesome a Female is willing to participate in a study like this and talk about it!!! I only wish I was able to get myself off, benefit others, and publish results all at the same time!
FYI she's pretty h0t and has a sweet set of knockers
Glad I'm not the only one who wanted to see what she looked like 🙂
that's the first thing i did. i agree. pretty hot. i'm a sucker for the red hair.
Just just googled Kayt Sukel...not hot at all...not that she's ugly but come on Bobbi.
What ???? ... Hot... not sure WHERE you looked.
Totally NOT hot! bordering homely. picture of her about to go into the MRI is a total turn off. No wonder she has to please herself.
I'm just glad it wasn't written by a guy ...
With Kommie Newz Net Verk you NEVER really do know.
You get to make yourself have an orgasm AND you get paid to do it? Nice country, America.
I still think it's a waste of money. With all these diseases killing people, more attention should be focused on that. We all know enough about sex to last a lifetime or two. I don't see anyone learning anything new about sex no matter how hard they try. This sounds like the kind of science project a highschool student or a nerd who will never actually have sex would do.
I can tell by your comment that you don't know anything about science, its value, or its process. So go away.
You probably think space exploration is a waste of time and money as well, don't you? Are you one of those people who would rather stay blissfully ignorant than to learn something amazing and useful? I thought so.
It's only in the last 5-10 years or so (one, maybe two research cycles) that we've gained a clear understanding of how sex and orgasm work with oxytocin and sex hormone release to improve neural plasticity, especially with regard to social bonding and interaction. And as I said to another poster, if it wasn't for sex research doctors would still be running around thinking orgasms were just sex-induced seizures. Just like with the autism-vaccine misdirection, not knowing how things work, or making false assumptions, will waste more time and money as people try and "fix" the wrong things, or fix things the wrong way. And without research, we'd be relying on religious principles and guesswork related to sex, or do you actually practice the so-called "rhythm method"? Because that worked SO well.
You are a very strange person.
Your'e right about knowing a plenty about S-E-X. After all, most folks tend to figure things like this out on their own. My paternal grand-parents never finnished High School. They had to tend a cotton crop. Nevertheless, even without the added "benefits" of S-E-X edumaca-shun, they still managed to have 11 kids..........
You could use that same argument for everything... Why work on creating a new food recipe when it could go to cancer? Why have a party at your house when the money could go to cancer? And while we probably should be spending more money on cancer, there is more to life than just cancer research, like music, food, sex, skiing, iPhones, theater, autism research, travel, green energy research, art, etc.
The cure for cancer (actually its prevention) has been known since 1920's. google Dr. Otto Warburg. he was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for his discovery. check it out. we already know. it is just That the US "health" industry and all of the "consultant" and other "organizations" want your money.
One question- did your insurance cover the 2 grand for the MRi?
The study's budget would have covered it, not anyone's insurance.
not everyone revolves their life around se x to the extent that she suggests....we're either doing it, thinking about it, or worrying about it? Not really. I grew out of that a long time ago. S is good, but there is more to life than that, and if you are obsessing on it to that degree, then perhaps there is a problem.
I think 'sockpuppet' tells it all.
@sockpuppet I can agree with you on that, at some point, if that's all that motivates you or think about. There is a problem.
Open your little closed mind sockpuppet...that comment taken litterally, is of course not factual, but she was trying to make the point that sex is a central emotional and physical act for almost every human and understanding it can lead to many benefits for all people.
PM.. nah... I THINK she was trying to sell books...
Mr. Suck Poppet, something tells me that Mizz Carla smellz uhhh RAT.
sockpuppet, I just don't get it, some people aren't into sex, some people are extremely into it. Why can't people be different?
The fact that you can't even type out the word "sex" kind of says it all. Got repression?
This is one of those articles that CNN knows will get hits, but is really not news, or much of an opinion, or the basis for an interesting discussion. Sure, sex research matters. But this article is more sensational than informative or argumentative. Booo CNN.
I completely agree with this! Her lede was I had an orgasm in an MRI and then she didn't mention it again till the end. It was really just an advertisment for funding.
Meta: Exactly.
I agree, and funny how she said why they did it during an MRI, but neglected to say any findings about the results.
Yes, just like Your useless comment!
I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST WASTED 1 MINUTE TO READ THIS, I THOUGHT IT IS SOMETHING INTERESTING. MAYBE YOU SHOULD THINK ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE WHOM ARE DYING WITH CANCER, MAYBE YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE FACT THERE IS NOTHING WILL BENIFIT THE SOCIALITY EXCEPT MAKE HAVING SEX MORE "INTERESTING". AND I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST WASTED ANOTHER MINUTE TO WRITE THIS.
Please, if you were that irritated with the article, you wouldn't have wasted your time commenting. Get over it and move on.
Next time, waste another minute with spellchecker and a grammer book........
So, since there is cancer and other bad things, science should focus on those things only. Pretty ignorant. Here's a thought for everyone who thinks it's a waste of time...maybe learning about the pleasure centers of the brain will decrease cancer due to stress reduction and andorphines being released into the body. many scientific discoveries were made by mistake or by association. I know if you're a Tea Bagger, you are against science but fortunately there are people who understand the value of science and education.
PS: I wasted a minute reading your ignorant post.
PSS: Quit yelling at us with your CAPS on and learn basic english while you're at it.
Just hold the pistol to your temple; slowly pull the trigger. Then everything will be OK for you...
So you get to demand that everyone spend money on things you deem socially beneficial? How exactly did you get that job?
I had an MRI once and it didn't do a darn thing for me...
guess what carla...nobody cares...
The "lady"(if suck-whoops, I mean if SUCH she is) should be careful about having too many orgasms in the radiation zones. Cancer is a terrible way to die. I guess in her case that might just be the high cost of low living.
You are supposed to be still in those things, how did she do it without moving?
C'mon guys...not one intelligent response? Your like silly little kids on the school ground.
And your 'itelligent' response is to critize other people's responses? Genius...
Now when she walks by someone using a microwave oven she'll start SCREAMING yes! Yes! YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!! OMG DON'T STOP! How could she concentrate with the noise that thing makes to accomplish her dream?
I have a feeling i should be thankful they didn't include a picture of this lady...
i looked her picture up. she's not bad. i'd watch.
One thing is for sure, this article has created the greatest commentary section any article on CNN has ever had!!! I am laughing my a$$ off!!! I really enjoy it when I read so many genuinely clever comments instead of ridiculous 60 line diatribes written by uptight nutcases.
Bravo to all of you!!!
This is fascinating. I'm buying the book. I need to find out why anyone would ask HOW you had an orgasm in the MRI and would love to hear your answer. I can think of a dozen fun ways to start telling them.
Either she has a dirty mind or else the doc went into the tank with her!
I'm trying to make sense of the seemingly-endless "SPEND MONEY ON REAL PROBLEMS INSTEAD!!!" responses. Why do people always assume that if someone is spending money on sex research it means that the money was yanked away from cancer research? Do they not understand how the grant process works? How science works? Are they uninformed? Or are they just unabashedly stupid? And while I agree that finding cures for cancer and HIV and RA and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and so on are extremely important, I'm not sure how anyone can deny the importance of figuring out how sex affects our bodies, minds, relationships, social structures, psychology, physiology, and anything else they might discover. (Science is an ongoing process, you see...just because you cannot see a definite goal does not mean that they won't make progress. It's a little bit more complicated than, say, your Sunday sports, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.) And if we're going to stop all research into sex because it's bad to spend money on that instead of "real problems," who gets to decide what the "real problems" are? Breast cancer already has a lot of funding...should we cut it off and pour that money into, say, pancreatic cancer research? Or has cancer itself gotten too much press? Maybe we should cut off ALL cancer funding and move to something with less luster – maybe autoimmune disorders. Or does that sound silly to everyone? Yeah, it kind of does. Use your heads for a few minutes, people, instead of making juvenile jokes or mustering up some righteous fury about things that you clearly know nothing about. It makes you look a little bit pathetic.
I agree!
I work in scientific research, and I can guarantee that most people don't understand the funding process at all. Heck, there are plenty of scientists who don't understand it even when they rely on it.
So all those comments about money going from topic A to topic B? Just ignorance of the funding system really. Considering sex and reproduction are really the primary driving forces of the physical part of an organism's life, you'd think people would encourage this research like the author suggests.
@mashasobaka The only thing i disagree with on your post is the cure for said diseases. No pharmaceutical company in the world will allow an actual cure to get to the public. Cures have no value in todays wonderful market. They will find "treatments" to help you live with those problems as long as possible. Cures aren't profitable.
Though I don't agree with how a lot of these comments are worded, as a physician-scientist, I think the funding of a study like this is a waste of taxpayers money, if it is NIH funded. If it's not NIH funded, then let them study whatever they like.
So... you are a physician-scientist and you are not interested whatsoever in how your brain functions?
Wow.
can she do moguls though?
And here I was thinking the MRI made her have an orgasm. I'm thinking a whole new industry... Maybe combine it with tanning salons or a massage. Might give a whole new meaning to happy ending. And no worries about being arrested. Sigh...
I would have an orgasm in 10 seconds if some hot lab tech was watching me!
Can I participate and get paid for it?
I wish the study results were discussed. What did the imaging illucidate? Were there any supprises. In the womans favor how could she focus enough to get there!
search online, or get Ms Sukel's book (I just read it - it's pretty fascinating stuff). The information is out there... just not the point of this particulat article.
Test
Maybe they could utilize their understanding from this study as a biofeedback tool to help women that have a hard time reaching climax.
Yeah! Thank you, someone who actually understands one of the potential outcomes of such research.
Large sums of my tax paying dollars for these studies is a huge waste. Its very simple, take male's reproductive organ and insert it into female's reproductive organ...feels good... surgeon general's warning this behavior can produce babies. Simple right? Everyone has their likes and dislikes, some are better than others.
Now as far as "Sex is a primary source of human motivation" goes? I beg to differ, Power and money can have the same primary source of motivation. In my case its Bacon, I hit all these when I have s ex while eating bacon, counting the little money I have and yelling at the dog till it tucks its tail. that's just me, you having a big O in an MRI machine if freaky.
A lage number of women never get an orgasm and many actually don't think it feels good. But you wouldn't care as long as you have your fun, would you? So why study it?
Also, you wouldn't want to know how different parts of your brain function and react to different stimuli (orgasm, pain, pleasant thoughts, empathy...). That would be horrible, it could lead to treating mental diseases. Completely useless research. Only cancer is important. I hope you are working on the cure to cancer otherwise your life is pretty useless.
I felt embarassed after getting a hard on in the MRI, especially when the nurse noticed and gave me one of those "looks". At the end the vibration was kinda cool, plus I was thinking about sex at the time, so I think this doc is quite accurate in her statements.
Don't you just love(NOT) when people see some research on something they aren't comfortable with and the first thing they say is why not spend the money on cancer research.. Kind of like when they complain about space program why not spend money on this or that.. Thing is there is money spent on cancer research but doesn't mean every researcher should focus on one thing. Would just be duplicated research I see nothing wrong with this research especially since there is so much we don't know about the human brain and hormone intereaction and how our emotions work and finding out those things actually could lead to some knowledge about cancer or other illness or even mental illness which probably affects lots more people than cancer does.. Rather than acting like a bunch of children learning a dirty word first time and repeating it over and over and thinking you are cute maybe this research will lead us to figure out why most of us are so hung up on the human body and sex as taboo but don't blink an eye to watching violence. That being said I can't help thinking of that scene from the movie Brainstorm with natalie wood christopher walken when that one researcher plugged into the machine where he had recorded himself having an orgasim with a women and put it in a loop. Did you notice he was pretty much an a...hole before then after he was nice and thoughtful and easy going... Maybe there is something to learn..
well said. some of the biggest advances in cancer treatmetns were actually based on something found in an entirely different line of research, that made someone say "hmmm, I wonder if we could also apply this over here...." Any new insights into how the brain works can have valuable implications in all sorts of other fields.
Agreed. I was conducting experiments in a field not related to cancer and they yielded unexpected results that made us pause until we realized it could actually work in cancer. So now we have a cancer program running in the lab. Just five years ago, i would have never known what I was working on would lead me to cancer research.
Unfortunately, a very large proportion of the population has no clue of how research works. Many would not care if all research programs were completely shut down. People don't even stop to wonder where all those tools they use daily were created, and by whom.
ok, agreed that the study is important and the researchers found out everything they can from these studies...then what? It is going to save the world from all the problems? After we study about humans, we can move on to animals, birds, insects etc. etc. Then the whole universal problems will be solved....
What is YOUR solution?
Scientists work on better understanding how the body works in normal and disease conditions to better lives. What do you do?
Would you rather everyone sit in a corner doing nothing and crying about how tough life is?
I want Dr. Oz to do a show with this topic. I bet it would be extremely interesting. He could provide some real organs and maybe a brain with pins.... and ofcourse a video of what occurred during the testing.
I bet she can only get off now while looking at the pictures in Medical Supply magazine.
Now THAT's research!!
g@y
Hey, next time you need to participate in that test, let me know. I will "help" you with your "research." Yeah, baby, anything for science.
What a screwed up female. After achieving an MRI orgasm how can she ever go back to just regular self-stimulation? Poor kid cannot get normal stimulation from people so she resorts to a machine. This screwball just did this to get some much needed attention. What a loser!
Admit it this womans ability terrifies you doesn't.
Wow, way to NOT know what an MRI is.
man all yall guys r pervs
Rose Red no it doesnt
The important question .. really .. was it MORE INTENSE in the MRI machine? The heck with the other fluff.
Who in the world would put this in an article for a stupid thing like this...
Mary Roach already did this in her book Bonk. Way better read than this article.
lol
Kayt, I would have loved to help you if needed.
Sounds like the Orgasmatron 2000 in Woody Allen's "Sleeper"
It must be a slow news day/
This is important research and I can't wait for the video to be on Youtube.
The Kinsey report updated to modern technology.
TMI TMI TMI
I am male. I was getting prepped for an MRI and either had to drink some media or was given an IV. I don't remember which. The technician mentioned that sometimes women have experienced an orgasm...not sure which of the ingredients contributed.
In the 1980's Phil Donahue traveled to the USSR and had a talk show on sex, with an audience of Soviet citizens. During the question and answer period, one able Soviet citizen raised her hand and announced on world-wide TV that, "In the Soviet Union we do not have sex."
Before anyone laughs, please consider that perhaps this is not as foreign as we might like to believe.
William Kenly
author of "The Dogs of Divorce"
Absolutely ridiculous how uptight people are in this country. If this was just a general study on the female orgasm, it's one thing, but when you are on a machine that can monitor the brain while stimulating pleasure centers, there are a million things I could think of that this could do. Hell, just on the 'cancer' front, they could figure out exactly how to use this to combat depression, possibly even help offset pain, who knows?
As for tax dollars? I'd rather my tax dollars go to something like this than, say, the Creationism Museum in Kentucky that's getting tax money from those poor fools to build a 'life size' model of Noah's Ark.
Haters gotta hate, and in this Puritanical joke we're in now, the best you can do is just ignore them.
The important question is why I had an orgasm in an fMRI scanner. Really?!?! The answer is simple. It was because you were "self stimulating".