From the article: "'It’s the hard question I want to answer,' he says. 'What creates consciousness?'"<p>This isn't just rhetoric: he's talking about a major area of philosophy of consciousness called the hard problem or hard question -- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness</a> -- and if they answer that via the medium of masturbation I'll be tickled pink.
Having participated on the researcher end of fMRI stuff, I am impressed if they can get a lot of women to actually climax in there. You really need to be focused on what you're doing, because there are a multitude of distractions. fMRI is significantly louder than a typical MRI exam, for example.<p>On a side not. You <i>can</i> bring metal stuff into the MRI room. It just can't be ferromagnetic. It's fun to play with sheets of aluminum and coins in the high field area. The metal will resist movement due to eddy current effects.
I found this part disturbing: "The business-savvy Komisaruk already has taken out a patent on the peptide that creates [post-orgasm bliss]." What an awful thing to do.
I have to admit to not having read the article, but I would be interested to see how many upvotes an article of the same flavor about male orgasms would get.
Quick summary of the article:<p>Doctor: <i>We want to find ways to increase pleasure in people’s lives</i><p>Woman Subject: <i>"Science needs my climax!"</i><p>Woman Subject: <i>"I try to remain calm as a vision of dangerous flying dildos passes through my mind."</i><p>running through fMRI brain scan as woman subject tries to self-stimulate to orgasm<p>Doctor: <i>"One of the biggest conundrums of the orgasm turns out to be a nagging question for all mankind: The orgasm activates the same part of the brain — the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula — as pain."</i><p><i>"What creates consciousness?"</i><p><i>"How does the brain create the mind?"</i>