According to a study, sexual arousal can be detected by the composition of the air we breathe. “The test subjects exhaled less isoprene and carbon dioxide, but the concentration of degradation products of certain neurotransmitters increased,” says a statement from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz.
The researchers had subjects watch various film clips – including an erotic film – and analyzed their breath. The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, could help to better assess sexual dysfunction, it said.
However, only 24 men and women took part in the study. “In order to increase the overall significance, we would like to repeat the study with a larger number of subjects,” say the researchers. The 12 women and 12 men watched various 10-minute film clips at the University of Porto: a nature travel documentary, a horror film, a soccer game and an erotic film. Meanwhile, her breath was continuously analyzed for more than 100 organic compounds. At the same time, the sexual arousal of the test subjects was measured by determining, for example, a rise in temperature in the genitals.
“In general, the results of the breath analysis were clearer in men than in women,” says researcher Giovanni Pugliese. The scientists did not observe the same increase in volatile substances in women as in men. In addition, some women were not particularly aroused by the erotic films.
Source: Nachrichten
