Prolactinergic and dopaminergic mechanisms underlying sexual arousal and orgasm in humans.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic concepts and prior studies without systematic search methods.
PubMed 15889301 · doi:10.1007/s00345-004-0496-7
What was done
This narrative review synthesized experimental animal data and human clinical observations regarding the interactions of dopamine and prolactin in regulating sexual arousal, penile erection, orgasm, and sexual satiation.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values. It describes directional relationships: dopamine agonists facilitate erectile function, sexual drive, and orgasmic quality, while chronic prolactin elevation suppresses appetitive and consummatory sexual parameters. Furthermore, acute prolactin increases markedly following orgasm in both males and females, potentially feeding back to central dopaminergic neurons to mediate sexual satiation.
Why it matters
It provides a neuroendocrine framework linking post-orgasmic prolactin release to central dopaminergic inhibition, offering mechanistic insight into sexual refractory periods and orgasmic disorders.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative data, sample sizes, or study counts. As a narrative review, it synthesizes theoretical and animal-to-human models without systematic methodology or risk-of-bias evaluation.
Cited by
- supports During orgasm, dopamine is released and is followed by an increase in prolactin.