Ways Sex Affects Your Brain Sex is like a drug

Ways Sex Affects Your Brain

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Sex is like a drug

Sex makes us feel good. That's why we want it, like it, and spend so much time hunting for mates. The pleasure we get from sex is largely due to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that activates the reward center of the brain. Dopamine is also one of the chemicals responsible for the high people get on certain drugs. "Taking cocaine and having sex don't feel exactly the same, but they do involve the same [brain] regions as well as different regions of the brain," says Timothy Fong, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Caffeine, nicotine, and chocolate also tickle the reward center, says Komisaruk.

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