Orgasm & Sexual Arousal in Women

From the website: 'This study investigated the cardiovascular, genital, and endocrine changes in women after masturbation induced orgasm.


Orgasm induced elevations in cardiovascular parameters and levels of plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline. Plasma prolactin substantially increased after orgasm, remained elevated over the remainder of the session, and was still raised 60 minutes after sexual arousal. In addition, sexual arousal also produced small increases in plasma LH and testosterone concentrations. In contrast, plasma concentrations of cortisol, FSH, ß-endorphin, progesterone, and estradiol were unaffected by orgasm.


Sexual arousal and orgasm produce a distinct pattern of neuroendocrine alterations in women, primarily inducing a long-lasting elevation in plasma prolactin concentrations. These results concur with those observed in men, suggesting that prolactin is an endocrine marker of sexual arousal and orgasm.
 
A Study of Cardiovascular and Endocrine Alterations
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/reprint/61/3/280