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Petronius -> RE: Men and Multiple Orgasms.... (1/9/2008 4:37:11 AM)
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There's a lot of hype about multiple male orgasms based on little more than dictionary hucksterism that "orgasm and ejaculation are different."
Masters and Johnson pointed out in "Human Sexual Response" that the orgasm is a two-stage process where the second stage involves, among other things, ejaculation.
It is possible to stop at the beginning of stage one, not go into stage two, and call that an "orgasm." I can do it. You can also call a loaf of white bread a "feast."
Dealing with reality instead of hype, however, the male refractory period seems to occur because of a post-orgasmic release of the hormone prolactin. It's been hypothesized that genuinely high-performing males release much less prolactin than others. Similarly, the increase in the refractory periods as men age can be attributed to the fact that post-orgasmic release of prolactin in minimal in the younger male and increases in the older one.
There's one case in the clinical literature where a fellow who released little or no prolactin ejaculated six times in 36 minutes. And that was in a lab setting being observed by strange people, something not really conducive to high performances.
The issue of multiple orgasms -- or reduced refractory periods -- is informally being attacked in two ways today.
There's a bit of an experimental sexual underground. There's a condition called "hyperprolactemia" where the body secretes too much prolactin so there are drugs to decrease prolactin production. Some men are using those drugs. Anecdotal evidence shows they work to reduce the refractory period to a considerable extent. But there are no studies I'm aware of concerning the effects of anti-prolactin drugs on male orgasm.
The second form of experimentation is more focused. Prolactin and dopamine are two opposites. Prolactin inhibits dopamine production; dopamine inhibits prolactin. A new class of anti-depressants called "dopamine reuptake inhibitors" are on the market, including Welbutrin (bupropion).
The serotonin drugs (SSRIs) like Prozac are often associated with male erectile dysfunction and inhibited orgasm. Welbutrin is advertised by its manufacturer to "have a low incidence of sexual side effects."
For a considerable number of men Welbutrin has a negative incidence; it does not in itself produce multiple orgasms but it certainly boosts post-orgasmic sexual desire and reduces the refractory period.
It seems to me that the combination of prolactin-inhibitors and dopamine-inducers is pointing the way to increased male orgasms. Sleep, diet, exercise, and playing with words do not.
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