A study carried out by McGill University in Montreal (Canada) has analyzed, through an experiment with mice, the influence of pain on libido , concluding that males continue to try to copulate even when they are feeling pain; while females, feeling pain, are completely dissuaded.
The researchers were trying to find out how pain affected sexual desire. For this, they selected a group of sexually compatible rodents that were separated individually. Each “pair” was only separated by a small door through which the female mouse could pass to go to the male’s room; the size of the gate was designed so that the male, who is one size larger than the female, could not cross it.
After this, the scientists injected a small dose of inflammatory compounds in the tail, feet or genitals to both sexes whose main sensation would be pain like that caused by a sunburn. The female mice walked through the door 50% less times than before in pain , which implied a decrease in their sexual motivation. However, by modifying the location of the mice, eliminating the access door to both cages, the male mice wanted to have as much sexual intercourse as when they felt pain, that is, there was no type of change in sexual behavior with or without pain. The sexual appetite was exactly the same .
The conclusions of the study, whose authors extrapolate to the behavior of human beings, have been published in the Journal of Neuroscience and have not been slow to find enemies . The neuroscientist from Rutgers University (USA) has stated that “the claim of an evolutionary basis for sexual behavior based on a study with mice trivializes the rich complexity of human behavior.”
