Angelnoir Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 (I hope this section is the right section for this topic.If it's not, then feel free to remove it and post it somewhere else.) Well, I've found this article here: http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/noticia...imas/30736.html And it's about asexuality (of course) but it's about asexuality-research at the UNAM (Autonomous National University of Mexico) , at their Neurobiology faculty to be precise. Which leads to the assumption that there is some biological research being made on this topic, recently. Not sociological,nor psychological but biological...which I think is quite significant..or it could be significant. It's a good article since it talks about asexuality from a purely biological viewpoint. Nonetheless,it's on spanish but I've translated the text. And I'm sorry if there are mistakes in it, my first language isn't english and translating is quite a difficult task for me. Well, I'm pretty sure there are some mistakes but I hope you understand it...... I hope that this article is of any use or at least, a little bit intresting. I haven't seen such an article in a long time, maybe I'm just not up to date with the research. Anyway, here it is: Asexual 5% of the world population:Mexico city According to estimations, between 3 and 5 % of the world's population have no joy while having sexual relationships, and inclusive many have erotic happenings but not sexuals with their couple, said Raul Gerardo Paredes Guerrero, director of the Neurobiology Institute of the national autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The specialist said that these persons are recognized as asexuals, defined as individuals with decreased desire, lack of excitement and without fantasies or motivations linked to joy, phenomenon which happens in the same range with men and women. This condition allows them to live calmly without having coitus, "not because they can't do it nor because they have psychological problems, but because they simply feel no attraction to it and like that they are happy", he stressed. Paredes Guerrero assured that the indifference to sex is not considered an illness, since "the asexuals don't have any type of biological dysfunction, they just count with another type of preference". However, the fact of not finding joy in sex doesn't mean that the same happens with any other potential hedonic stimulus, like enjoying a cake or drinking a drink, he added. Casually, he indicated, within the animals this phenomenon of "not-copulators" is registered in the same percentage then within humans, but in the last group this information is acquired through surveys or clinical histories, and the data has been gathered principally in the United States. Nowadays,the Institute of Neurobiology of the UNAM realizes studies with rats to determine the causes of this conduct. The specialist of biomedical investigation analyzes the pleasant states associated with copulation, through opioids (compounds which are released to control pain and to induce pleasant states, its synthetic derivative is morphium), and it has showed that it causes pleasure in rats while having sex and it is inflicted like that, because they prefer a place associated with the display of sexual conduct. He has also realized experiments with a substance which blocks the opioid receptors, and what brought the joy ceases to happen, with this it seems, that this endogenous compounds are the compounds responsible for the production of carnal delight, he explained. In the body exist receptors for these elements and they are released in the preoptic medial area of the hypothalamus, related to sexual conduct, and they increase or decrease the delight. Its absence in this zone could be an explication, he indicated. According he said, that their exist biological, social, and cultural factors linked , like in the case of violation which can produce phobia or a painful experience which can produce an aversion to sex, but the asexuals not necessarily had such a traumatic experience, their lack of appetite is natural. In horses,rabbits and rats and other species the "not-copulators" had been identified and studied and their level of hormones have been measured and they are equal to the ones of "copulators", nonetheless, when they are placed with different females, and inclusive other males, they don't do coitus with any of them, he assured. Likewise, "it has been confirmed that they are not feminized, they simply don't care if they copulate or not , there only has been described an alteration in the hypothalamus and a drop of aromatase, an enzyme which converts testosterone into estadiol, a hormone which is entailed to sexual functions", he explained. The specialist said that you can live without having sex, since it is only important for the survival of the species, and not for the individual as an animal, just like a human being, can pass their whole lives without coitus. Link to post Share on other sites
Cicero Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Interesting article, thanks for translating it! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EGDingCale'sTeapot Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 wow, an even higher percentage rate! *ooohs* Link to post Share on other sites
Siggy Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 This is a great article. I liked this quote especially: ...se puede vivir sin tener sexo, pues sólo es importante para la supervivencia de las especies, no del individuo...[...you can live without having sex, since it is only important for the survival of the species, and not for the individual...] I also noticed that the UNAM director said that asexuality occurs in the same proportions in females and males. Is this true? For some reason, I was under the impression that it's more common in females than in males. Link to post Share on other sites
BadFugu Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I also noticed that the UNAM director said that asexuality occurs in the same proportions in females and males. Is this true? For some reason, I was under the impression that it's more common in females than in males. I think its equally common, but that men don't necessarily notice anything different. Thus, because most of the information is based on polls, it would appear that there are more asexual women. Link to post Share on other sites
Jillianimal Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 wow, an even higher percentage rate! *ooohs* I wonder how many of us there really are >_> Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.