Inflammatory pain inhibits libido in women, but not men. The cause is biological, as evidenced by a study on mice.
“Not tonight, I have a migraine. This famous excuse invoked by women in front of an enterprising partner is not just a cliché. According to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience this April 23, pain inhibits the libido of women… but does not affect that of men!
“We know from other studies that women’s sexual desire is much more context-dependent than men’s. What we do not know is that it is due to biological or socio-cultural factors, ”underlines Jeffrey Mogil, co-author of the study. A Canadian team observed the behavior of different groups of mice, male and female. Two specimens of each sex in heat were placed in cages, separated by barriers. The openings made did not allow the male to join the female, who decided if she wanted to approach the male and for how long. The females were subjected to inflammatory pain. The researchers noted that they spent less time in the space of the males and mated less.
Tips for the chronically ill
In a second group, the males suffered the same suffering but were placed in the same space as a healthy female. Their sexual behavior has never been affected by pain, which they feel as much as their female counterparts.
These results confirm a well-known observation. But above all, they emphasize the impact of chronic pain in women: it “is often accompanied by sexual problems in humans. This study provides an animal model of pain-inhibited sexual desire, which should help scientists study this important symptom of chronic pain,” says Professor Yitzchak Binik, co-author of the study.
Observing the biological origin of these different reactions to pain will also make it possible to understand how they work… and solve the problem of patients whose chronic illnesses or treatments disturb their libido.
