[Stillness]

(from a less fun test)

They probably liked it and skewed the research.

[ItsASecret]

The response of the brain looked very similar to the response to pain.

Bringing oneself to orgasm in an scanner (PET or fMRI) means it is watching the result of endorphin and dopamine release and localized brain activity in the reward pathway, the pleasure center. If someone is excited by the thought and experience of eating a piece of chocolate the same type of localized brain activity would occur (though to a lesser extent than that of an orgasm) because of the enjoyment and reward. The pain pathway operates in the same manner, just not a reward but more of the excitation part. The brain sees endorphins and dopamine and it thinks the body is somehow being excited, excited does not necessarily mean sexual it just means something is causing an increase in heart rate, breathing, tension etc...the body is in alert mode essentially so the brain areas light up like a Christmas tree. Hence you get activation during orgasm which is similar to the reaction from pain since it involves basically the same areas. It really does not mean much from a physiological point of view. And from a study point of view I mean someone reading it could potentially skew results like this and say others should engage in painful sexual acts because "the brain responds like an orgasm" lol, but I mean that is one heck of a stretch of an idea.

[Stillness]

I mean, come on...who sees a posting like, "We're going to stab you with needles and pay you $25," and says, "Oooo, I'll do it," unless they likey a little kinky. I'll bet their brain lit up! They probably asked if they could wear leather in the MRI. The scientist was probably like, "Ma'am, could you please not bring those nipple clamps near the equipment."

[ItsASecret]

I mean, come on...who sees a posting like, "We're going to stab you with needles and pay you $25," and says, "Oooo, I'll do it," unless they likey a little kinky. I'll bet their brain lit up! They probably asked if they could wear leather in the MRI. The scientist was probably like, "Ma'am, could you please not bring those nipple clamps near the equipment."

This sounds like an SNL skit lol. But no...it does not happen like that at all. Pain studies involve mild electric shocks usually to the finger, someplace on the arm, or the foot. Nothing that will harm to a participant or fail to pass the ethics board lol. What happens in the research study is nothing like what would happen behind closed doors of a couple, unless the couple's idea of kinky sex is cold hospital rooms, hospital gowns, clipboards of questionaires, MRI scanners, a meshwork of sensors on the head and scientific words....then it will be a super kinky experience for the one in the study.

[SaharaJim]

I view my self as more on the "erotic" side than "KINKY". Erotic being tickling your partner with a feather; Kinky being the whole chicken.

[Maximus]

I view my self as more on the "erotic" side than "KINKY". Erotic being tickling your partner with a feather; Kinky being the whole chicken.

Finally a definition that suits me. Yes !

[Hopeless Dork]

Yeah. I think of myself as kinky, perverted compared to what we are told 'normal' is... however, I think if everyone was truly honest in their desires, if they expressed what turns them on either occasionally or frequently that the kinky and perverted would be the norm, leaving the norm in the kinky category :P

[ItsASecret]

however, I think if everyone was truly honest in their desires, if they expressed what turns them on either occasionally or frequently that the kinky and perverted would be the norm, leaving the norm in the kinky category :P

I believe it would change some things from "kinky" to normal if people opened up more. However, that change implies that the majority would share the same enjoyment of kinky ideas and good luck with having the majority of the public share the same opinion that something currently designated kinky should be called normal instead lol. Whatever that may be, say someone thinks hard anal sex is the best and another believes tieing someone down with chains and ballgagging them for hours should be nothing but normal...it is not likely to have a majority opinion on something that is currently considered kinky. I am not sure what sex act could make the move from kinky to normal that the majority of people would agree on is enjoyable, majority is the key because once it hits that it is considered normal.

[Hopeless Dork]

I don't think it would be a singular act or fetish that the majority would agree upon that would turn vanilla to kinky and the kinky to the norm... I mean that there is something that almost everything thinks of, or has thought of at one point something that someone has done or wanted to do that they wouldn't want other people to know for fear of being judged as kinky or perverted.