Pain from inflammation may greatly reduce sexual motivation. The direct impact of pain on sexual behavior was studied, possibly for the first time in any species, and reported by researchers in Canada. They found that pain due to inflammation greatly reduced sexual motivation in female mice in heat–but had no such effect on male mice.
“Chronic pain is very often accompanied by sexual problems in humans,” says Professor Yitzchak Binik at McGill University. This animal study creates a model for exploring pain-inhibited sexual desire that can help researchers eventually apply to human research.
The study is a classic example of why sex-based research should start at the animal level (when it is cheaper) to determine if a condition may have underlying sex differences that can apply to humans. The Women’s Health Research Institute at NU has been an outspoken advocate for sex based research from the bench to the bedside!
Source: McGill University