Programs of Passion: Think of a Man, Take Away All Reason and Accountability . . .

Remember Jack Nicholson's line from "As Good As It Gets? (scroll halfway down)" There is some truth hiding within the sexism. A woman in orgasm is somewhat different from a man. The parts of her brain that turn off when she turns on, are quite revealing:

But when a woman reached orgasm, something unexpected happened: much of her brain went silent. Some of the most muted neurons sat in the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, which may govern self-control over basic desires such as sex. Decreased activity there, the researchers suggest, might correspond to a release of tension and inhibition. The scientists also saw a dip in excitation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which has an apparent role in moral reasoning and social judgment—a change that may be tied to a suspension of judgment and reflection.

Brain activity fell in the amygdala, too, suggesting a depression of vigilance similar to that seen in men, who generally showed far less deactivation in their brain during orgasm than their female counterparts did. “Fear and anxiety need to be avoided at all costs if a woman wishes to have an orgasm; we knew that, but now we can see it happening in the depths of the brain,” Holstege says. He went so far as to declare at the 2005 meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Development: “At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings.” _SciAm

But Holstege is not being precise. More precisely at the moment of orgasm, women do not have any accountability or reason, or fear. That is the whole point--the release from the need to fret, worry, second guess oneself. Women spend a lot of energy guarding themselves from the unchecked passion of men (and their own). But there comes a time when she simply must let go. And when a woman lets go, she really, really lets go.

Evolution has given men and women incentives to procreate. For a man, there is that important feeling of pleasure linked with driving energy and power. For a woman, there is the blissful letting go of all of those "no's" and "shoulds" in her head.

They say a woman's work is never done. That may be true. But for a few lingering moments, a woman's work can be put on hold.