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How Sex Affects Intelligence, and Vice Versa
New research says sexual activity can grow brain cells. Keeping them may be another matter.
DAN HURLEYJAN 13 2014, 9:00 AM ET



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Forget mindfulness meditation, computerized working-memory training, and learning a musical instrument; all methods recently shown by scientists to increase intelligence. There could be an easier answer. It turns out that sex might actually make you smarter.

Researchers in Maryland and South Korea recently found that sexual activity in mice and rats improves mental performance and increases neurogenesis (the production of new neurons) in the hippocampus, where long-term memories are formed.

In April, a team from the University of Maryland reported that middle-aged rats permitted to engage in sex showed signs of improved cognitive function and hippocampal function. In November, a group from Konkuk University in Seoul concluded that sexual activity counteracts the memory-robbing effects of chronic stress in mice. �Sexual interaction could be helpful,� they wrote, �for buffering adult hippocampal neurogenesis and recognition memory function against the suppressive actions of chronic stress.�

Even brief viewing of pornographic images does interfere with people's "working memory."
So growing brain cells through sex does appear to have some basis in scientific fact. But there�s some debate over whether fake sex�pornography�could be harmful. Neuroscientists from the University of Texas recently argued that excessive porn viewing, like other addictions, can result in permanent �anatomical and pathological� changes to the brain. That view, however, was quickly challenged in a rebuttal from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, who said that the Texans "offered little, if any, convincing evidence to support their perspectives. Instead, excessive liberties and misleading interpretations of neuroscience research are used to assert that excessive pornography consumption causes brain damage."

Whether or not porn "addiction" literally damages the brain, even brief viewing of pornographic images does interfere with people�s �working memory��the ability to mentally juggle and pay attention to multiple items. A study published last October in the Journal of Sex Research tested the working memory of 28 healthy individuals when they were asked to keep track of neutral, negative, positive, or pornographic stimuli. �Results revealed worse working memory performance in the pornographic picture condition,� concluded Matthias Brand, head of the cognitive psychology department at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

If having sex can make people smarter, the converse is not true: being smarter does not mean you'll have more sex.
One myth about sex�or perhaps it�s just a joke?�is that �testosterone poisoning� makes young men stupid. Actually, a 2007 study in the journal Neuropsychologia measured the level of testosterone in the saliva of prepubertal boys, including some who were intellectually gifted, with an IQ above 130, some who were average, and some who were mentally challenged, with an IQ less than 70. They concluded that �boys of average intelligence had significantly higher testosterone levels than both mentally challenged and intellectually gifted boys, with the latter two groups showing no significant difference between each other.�

But if having sex can make people smarter, the converse is not true: being smarter does not mean you�ll have more sex. Smarter teens, in fact, tend to delay their initiation of coital activities. A 2012 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that high working memory decreases the likelihood of early adolescent sexual debut. Some researchers have attributed the delay to greater overall �competence� among smarter teens. But a 2010 study found that adolescents at both the upper and lower ends of the intelligence distribution were less likely to have sex. Most recently, a study of 536 same-sex twin pairs concluded that intelligence may be a red herring: the association is really between school achievement, not IQ per se, and age at first sexual experience.

In old age, too, cognitive abilities affect one�s chances of getting lucky. A study published just last month found that older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a forerunner of Alzheimer�s disease, were only about half as likely to have engaged recently in sexual activity as were their cognitively healthy peers. Of those with MCI, just 32.5 percent had recently engaged in sex, compared to 62.3 percent of those without MCI.

Perhaps, however, the dream of getting smarter through sex is just an alluring fantasy. Tracey J. Shors, a psychologist at the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University, has reported that while many activities can increase the rate at which new brain cells are born, only effortful, successful learning increases their survival. As she said at a meeting on �Cognitive Enhancers� at the Society for Neuroscience in 2012: �You can make new cells with exercise, Prozac and sex. If you do mental training, you�ll keep alive more cells that you produced. And if you do both, now you have the best of both worlds�you�re making more cells and keeping more alive.�

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DAN HURLEY is the author of Smarter: The New Science
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Making Love at 50+ (AARP)

We must have some really intelligent welfare mothers and gang members in this country because they breed like flies.

I know I'm going to regret this but I can't resist.

How do two people become one under Christianity when Christian reality is dualist?

Get married and then be married?

Well, they have us paying for their food, education, medicine, drs, etc.

Remember the other effect of no sex...!

HomeHealthSex & RelationshipsMore sex is the secret to a longer, healthier life
HealthSex & Relationships
More sex is the secret to a longer, healthier life
Sex is anti-aging, immune-boosting and stress-reducing to name a few of the health benefits. Here are six reasons to spend more time between the sheets.

Nov 8, 2012 Natasha Turner, ND 3


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There is an anti-aging, immune-boosting, stress-reducing, mood-enhancing and hormone- balancing secret out there�and it�s not just for the stars! It�s sex. Did you know that having regular sex will give you a host of physiological and psychological benefits? Here�s why:

1. It�s a natural pain reliever: Sex causes increased production of oxytocin, which is often referred to as the �love hormone�. Before orgasm, oxytocin, released from the brain, surges up to five times the normal level. This increase then leads to the release of endorphins, our natural pain-killing hormones. The area of the brain involved in pain reduction is highly activated during arousal and endorphins are released; endorphins soothe nerve impulses that cause menstrual cramps, migraines or joint pain. Doesn�t this provide the perfect comeback to the old �not tonight honey, I have a headache�? Oxytocin also affects the way we feel, helping us form strong emotional bonds as well as reduce pain. According to a study by Beverly Whipple, professor emeritus at Rutgers University and a famed sexologist and author, when women have an orgasm, pain tolerance threshold and pain detection threshold increases significantly, by up to 74.6 percent and 106.7 percent respectively.

2. It�s a stress reliever: The endorphins released during sexual intercourse and orgasms are natural mood-boosters and stress relievers. Regular sex can also boost your self-esteem and increase intimacy between partners. For those in a monogamous relationship, studies have found that semen does contain several mood-altering hormones that can reduce depression, testosterone, oestrogen, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and several different prostaglandins. Some of these changes have been detected in a women�s blood within hours of exposure to semen.

3. It boosts immunity: Endorphins released during intimacy have been found to stimulate immune system cells that fight disease. Researchers have found higher levels of Immunoglobulin A in individuals who have regular sex. Immunoglobulin A is a type of antibody that helps to protect us from infections. It is normally found in high levels in the mucous membranes of the digestive and respiratory tracts.

4. It�s good for your heart: Intercourse, depending on your level of enthusiasm, can be considered aerobic exercise, burning up to 200 calories per session. Among other benefits, women who engage in regular sexual activity with their partners have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against heart disease. Research has found that men who have sex two times per week have fewer heart attacks than those who do not. The hormones released during sex cause an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, and it engages almost every muscle in the body. After sex, blood vessels dilate and blood pressure is then reduced. This change in blood vessel constriction may also help with tension headaches.

5. It turns back the clock: A 2002 report from a large British population of men said researchers found a 50 percent reduction in overall mortality in the group of men who said they had the most orgasms. The Journal of the American Medical Association has also reported that �high ejaculation frequency was related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer.� Having regular orgasms can increase your life span. Every time you reach orgasm, the hormone DHEA increases in response to sexual excitement and orgasm. DHEA can boost your immune system, improve cognition, keep skin healthy, and even work as an antidepressant. Therefore, the added health benefit is that you will feel�and look�younger, longer.

6. It gives you a glow: The glow of good sex is real. Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which is essential to enjoying healthier, smoother skin. This increase in estrogen also helps to protect us from heart disease, osteoporosis and Alzheimer�s disease. Not only that, but the more sex you have, the more your partner will want it; when we are more sexually active we give off more pheromones, the chemicals we produce to increase the interest of the opposite sex. It also promotes the production of collagen, which keeps the skin supple and gives you a healthy glow.

Still not feeling in the mood? If you notice a decrease in your libido, do not let it go unaddressed. Your sex drive is a basic human need�if you have no sex drive it is an indication of a hormonal imbalance. Relationship problems, depression, hormonal imbalance or stress can contribute to a lack of libido. Consider supplements to raise testosterone or reduce stress, such as those suggested in my three-step program for hormonal health and wellness outlined in The Hormone Diet. I also encourage you to see your doctor for proper assessment.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor and founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet.

For more wellness advice from Natasha Turner, click here.

I am married but you still didn't answer the question.

The question is rhetorical. No Christian can answer the question.

I don't get the question. Can you explain it?

??

The Duellist was a movie made in the 70's, DD.

The answer is that sex is good for people, which is why He made it so people could do it essentially all year round.

It reduces dementia and Alzheimer's, boosts immunity, reduces diabetes, reduces heart disease and blood pressure, reduces incidence of prostate cancer and depression and increases immune function and aids endorphins and weight loss. IOW it increases quality of life.

No wonder some are against it.

In fact, the Bible says in the New Testament we are to spend our life serving and worshipping The Lord. It says if we are going to partake in the pleasure of the flesh we are to get married.

From a philosophical standpoint reality comes in three sizes: monism, dualism, and pluralism. The reality of Christianity is dualistic. In other words, Christianity has two realities. Religions that have dualistic tendencies are constantly at war with the two realities with one reality always trying to defeat the other reality. Under monism there is only one reality with many different aspects or polarities. Monism seeks balance or harmony with different aspects or polarities of the one reality.

I'm not very good at trying to explain the metaphysical aspects of philosophy on a forum of this type.

If you want to learn more you will have to become a philosopher and study philosophy especially metaphysical philosophy. For me it has been a life long study.

Yes I think I've seen that movie but that's not what I'm talking about.

I never read of dualism or trifectas or anything like that in The Bible, DD.

It's not that complicated DD...

The verse that talks about it states that a man will leave his family and cleave to his wife and that the two will become one flesh.

It's referring to the fact that when you pick a life mate, you and they are to be on the same team. You're one team, one unit. No longer a part of that other family unit to the same degree that you were prior to marriage.

Nothing more complicated than that and it doesn't violate any metaphysical ideologies.

I have no control of over your religious ignorance.

That's a nice thing about not being a part of organized religion any only reading the official propaganda, one really gets to know things. No offense intended.

As I said I would probably regret going where no man should ever go a closed mine. Sorry.

Maybe it's because I never studied philosophy, but I still don't know what you are asking about the Christian faith. Please speak in simple words even I can understand and I'll do my best to answer the question.

Ah but it does, on the one hand you are saying you are to become one reality but on the other hand Christianity is two realities. No wonder being a Christian is such a difficult task.

Well I just noticed I have to get going if I'm to go for coffee and read and study some more philosophy. I'm reading "The Druids" right now. Maybe back later.

My religion is unorganized. I learned about the Word from this book they call The Holy Bible. It tells ALL about life and death and history (past, present, and future).