The desire for sex makes the heart beat faster, dilates the pupils and increases the blood circulation of the genitals. Whether a person is aroused, however, also reveals the molecules in his breath. This is reported by researchers led by Jonathan Williams from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz in the journal Scientific Reports.
Williams' team showed twelve women and men several emotional or erotic videos. In the meantime, the content of carbon dioxide and organic compounds in the breathing air of the test subjects was measured via a mask. At the same time, a thermal imaging camera recorded the temperature of its external genitals as an indication of sexual excitement.
The subjects exhaled less carbon dioxide and isoprene (a hydrocarbon) when they felt pleasure. One possible reason: During sexual arousal, a little less blood flows into the lungs and muscles. As a result, the substances would be transported away in reduced concentrations via the breathing air, the researchers explain. In addition, the breath of the excited male subjects increasingly contained the degradation products phenol and indole, which are produced during the production of the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine – precursors of messenger substances such as serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in the development of feelings of pleasure.
In women, breathing gas analysis provided less significant results overall. On the one hand, this could have been due to the small sample - but also because they did not find the erotic film as exciting as the male subjects. Therefore, the working group wants to repeat the experiment with a larger sample. Follow -up studies should also clarify whether the chemical composition of the breath also changes in the case of hugs or when kissing.
