I’M SURE THE PHARMA COMPANIES ARE AROUSED AT THIS THOUGHT, ANYWAY: Is science getting closer to the brain center for male libido?

Directly infusing the peptide to the POA accelerated mating behavior; in fact, direct activation of the circuit even led to mating with inanimate objects, the findings showed.

Stimulation of the POA also cut short the mice’s refractory period, or the stretch of recovery time required before full sexual drive and capability is restored after ejaculation.

For the mice used in this study, the normal refractory period is five days. But directly stimulating the POA with Substance P prompted male mice that had just ejaculated to immediately repeat their sexual mating routine.

“It took one second or less for them to resume sexual activity,” Shah said in a news release. “That’s a more than 400,000-fold reduction in the refractory period.” . . .

A sex-stimulating drug aimed at the human equivalent of the POA would act very differently than erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, Shah said.

Instead of stimulating blood flow in the small blood vessels, such drugs would directly act upon the specific brain area that controls the male libido, he explained.

Shah’s group is also trying to find equivalent brain circuits in females.

There’s gold in them thar pills.