Neural-genital connection is stronger across many brain regions in women than in men when sexually aroused, according to a study that compares the neural basis of genital arousal in both sexes.

A group of study participants with 20 men and 20 women were invited to watch either a humorous or an erotic movie. The researchers from Montreal, Canada, used infrared thermal imaging to measure the participants genital temperatures, functional MRI brain imaging to map their brain activities, and questioning to determine their subjective arousal levels, and monitored them continuously throughout the study.

Comparison of results between male and female participants showed a stronger correlation between brain activities across many regions of the brain for women.

These regions include the left and right cerebellum associated with sensory input and movement coordination such as balance and posture, the subcallosal cortex associated with higher mental and emotional processes including interpretation of sensations and memory, the posterior cingulate cortex involved with internally directed thoughts such as memory recall, and the lateral occipital cortex responsible for visual processing.

On the other hand, none of the brain regions in men showed a stronger brain-genital correlation than in women.

These findings, reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, shed a new light on the neurophysiological aspect of women sexuality.