Female brain, sperm and sex

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Female brain, sperm and sex

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An international research team has highlighted a very interesting mechanism connecting the female brain and the sexual act.

Scientists have discovered a protein contained in sperm that affects the brain function of the female mammal, so that it induces ovulation. The same protein molecule was also found to regulate the growth, maintenance and survival of nerve cells.

The glands that produce the sex hormones in male mammals are also the ones that produce the seminal fluid. So far, there is limited knowledge regarding the role of seminal fluid and the glands that produce it. However, the results of the study show that these glands produce a hormone in large quantities that has a direct effect on the female's brain.

The study also raises interesting questions regarding fertility in humans and mammals. The researchers found that a protein they call ovulation-inducing factor (OIF) is present in all the mammalian species they have examined so far.

They compared OIF to thousands of other proteins, including neurotrophic nerve growth factor (NGF), and to their surprise, found it to be the same molecule.

The effect of NGF, in fact, on females had not been recognized before. OIF/NGF in sperm acts as a hormonal signal that is carried through the female's hypothalamus and pituitary gland and triggers the release of hormones that in turn signal the ovaries to release one or more eggs, depending on species.

The research focused on llamas and cattle. In llamas they found that the stimulus for ovulation is given by ejaculation, while in cattle, as in humans, it is given by a regular increase in the level of hormones.

The two factors, OIF and NGF, were compared by various techniques by scientists and found to have the same magnitude and effect in different species. The idea that a substance in semen has a direct effect on the female brain is new.

The findings of the present study expand our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate ovulation, while also raising some very interesting questions about fertility.

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