The gag reflex and fellatio.

Extracts from the 1950 paper:

“In a study of consititutional psychopathic personalities especially the sexual deviants, it was found during a routine physical examination that the gag reflex was frequently absent. This was a more definite finding in those homosexuals who admitted fellatio. This observation, first made at an induction station in 1942, was studied further in 1,404 patients at a neuropsychiatric military hospital in 1944… …All were given a complete physical examination and psychiatric work-up. The gag reflex evaluation was made in each case. It was tested by manipulating a tongue depressor around the uvula, soft palate, and pharyngeal vault. Normally, the stimulus innervates this area and produces the gag reflex. In subjects practicing fellatio this reflex is absent even when the tongue depressor is inserted well into the vault of the pharynx. The positive test, i.e., the absence of the gag reflex, depends on the desensitization of this area due to conditioning, this being brought ...]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/12/ncbi-rofl-dont-ask-dont-check-my-gag-reflex/feed/ 2 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/11/ncbi-rofl-the-g-spot-nature-vs-nurture/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/11/ncbi-rofl-the-g-spot-nature-vs-nurture/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:00:46 +0000 ncbi rofl http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/?p=6412 Love is in the air at NCBI ROFL!  Tuesday-Friday this week, we will feature research articles about love in its most physical form (okay, we just mean plain ol’ sex).  Enjoy!

Genetic and Environmental Influences on self-reported G-Spots in Women: A Twin Study.

“There is an ongoing debate around the existence of the G-spot-an allegedly highly sensitive area on the anterior wall of the human vagina. The existence of the G-spot seems to be widely accepted among women, despite the failure of numerous behavioral, anatomical, and biochemical studies to prove its existence. Heritability has been demonstrated in all other genuine anatomical traits studied so far. Aim: To investigate whether the self-reported G-spot has an underlying genetic basis. Methods. 1804 unselected female twins aged 22-83 completed a questionnaire that included questions about female sexuality and asked about the presence or absence of a G-spot. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation in the reported existence of a G-spot was assessed… …We found 56% of women reported having a G-spot. The prevalence decreased with age. Variance component analyses revealed that variation in G-spot reported frequency is almost entirely a result of individual ...]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/11/ncbi-rofl-the-g-spot-nature-vs-nurture/feed/ 2 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/10/ncbi-rofl-references-to-the-paraphilias-and-sexual-crimes-in-the-bible/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/02/10/ncbi-rofl-references-to-the-paraphilias-and-sexual-crimes-in-the-bible/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:21 +0000 ncbi rofl http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/?p=6553 Love is in the air at NCBI ROFL!  Tuesday-Friday this week, we will feature research articles about love in its most physical form (okay, we just mean plain ol’ sex).  Enjoy!

“While writing a book on paraphilias, the author made a thorough search of early references to paraphilias in literature, especially the Bible. Surprisingly just one published paper was available in the literature having any discussion on the references of paraphilia in the Bible, and that too was in French. [Bieder J. The polymorphous sexual deviant: a reading of Freud and the Bible. Ann Med Psychol (Paris) 1973;2(2):274-81 [in French]]. For the readers in English language, nothing was available on this interesting topic. The author undertook the task of reading the original Bible and finding out instances of paraphilias mentioned therein. Main paraphilias, abnormal sexual behavior and sexual crimes to which explicit allusions were present in the Holy Bible were adultery, incest, sexual harassment, drug facilitated sexual assault, rape, gang rape, homosexuality, transvestism, voyeurism, bestiality, exhibitionism and necrophilia.”

Image: flickr/charlie cravero

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