The female orgasm probably has no evolutionary function, but is a key part of the human reproductive cycle. This is the conclusion reached by anthropologists from Pennsylvania State University, whose research results are published in the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution.
The evolutionary role of the female orgasm is one of the central questions of human sexuality from the anthropological point of view. There are more than ten scientific theories explaining the origin of orgasm in women. In particular, a number of researchers suggest that the reproductive mechanism of the latter is identical to the male and requires the achievement of orgasm for successful fertilization. Orgasm is also interpreted as a reward for a partner or a factor in physiological changes that increase the chances of conception.
In the new study, scientists analyzed ovulation in different types of mammals. Ovulation involves the release of an egg from the ovary into the fallopian tube, maturing under the influence of oxytocin and prolactin and entering the oviduct for fertilization. The results of observations have shown that ovulation in some animals is rigidly related to environmental factors, in particular, the release of an egg in female rabbits can occur with only the presence of a male. But in the body of primates, including humans, ovulation is spontaneous, cyclical and is not provided by external conditions or the presence of a partner.
An analysis of the thematic literature led the authors to the conclusion that the degree of ovulation induction goes out with the evolution of mammals. In addition, it was found that in earlier mammals, the clitoris is usually part of the vagina, allowing for appropriate stimulation during intercourse. At higher levels of evolution, the female clitoris moves further and further from the vagina and eventually takes a position that makes it unattainable for the penis during intercourse.
“A shift in clitoris localization correlates with a loss of ovulation induction. Their hypothesis shifts the focus from orgasm as an evolutionary innovation - a purely theoretical concept - to orgasm as an inherited evolutionary trait,”comments Martin Cohn, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Florida.
It is noted that the new theory helps explain the relatively low frequency of orgasms in women. However, the study needs further verification. Thus, the analysis of oviral cycles was carried out taking into account hormonal, but not neurological changes in the mammalian body. The state of the central and peripheral nervous systems largely determines the identification of specific pleasure characteristic of animals, especially higher ones, during orgasm.