Scientists have discovered the female orgasm leads to an altered state of consciousness that could help the minority of women who cannot climax.

科学家发现性高潮能使女性产生一种特殊的意识状态，这项发现或许会对少部分无法达到性高潮的女性有所帮助。

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands unwittingly stumbled across the results after they examined the brain scans of women taken while they orgasmed。

这种状态是荷兰格罗宁根大学的研究人员在对经历性高潮的女性进行头部扫描时无意间发现的。

The team noticed that an area of the brain, known as the orbitofrontal cortex or OFC, switched off when the women climaxed。

这个研究小组注意到，女性在经历性高潮时，她们大脑中被称为眼窝前额皮质的区域突然变得不活跃了。

It is estimated that one in four women in the US has had difficulty achieving orgasm in the past year, while between five and ten percent of women suffer from anorgasmia and cannot climax at all。

据估计，过去一年里全美有四分之一的女性很难获得性高潮，5%-10%的女性感受不到性快感，或者根本就不能达到性高潮。

Speaking to New Scientist magazine, researcher Janniko Georgiadis said the OFC may be the basis for "sexual control", and that by "letting go" women can induce orgasm。

研究员贾尼科 吉尔吉厄迪斯在接受《新科学家》杂志采访时称，大脑的眼窝前额皮质或许是控制人类性高潮的区域，只要女性能让这一区域“全情投入”，她们就能获得性高潮。

He said: "I don't think orgasm turns off consciousness but it changes it. When you ask people how they perceive their orgasm, they describe a feeling of a loss of control. I'm not sure if this altered state is necessary to achieve more pleasure or is just some side effect."

他说：“我认为性高潮并没有使人丧失意识，而是改变了人的意识。如果你要某人描述到达性高潮时的感受，他们往往会有一种失控的感觉。当然我并不确定这种特殊的意识状态能使人获得更多快感，还是仅仅是某种副作用。”

To create the scans, Dutch researchers strapped the women into an MRI scanner and then allowed their partners to pleasure them to orgasm, all the while taking snapshots of their brain activity。

为了了解女性高潮时大脑的状态，研究人员将参与实验的女性置于核磁共振扫描仪内，并让她们的伴侣助其达到性高潮，然后扫描她们脑部的活动情况。

It is hoped that by comparing the brain scans of women having an orgasm with those who cannot, scientists will be able to "coach" those with anorgasmia into truly "letting go"。

通过对不同女性的脑电图，科学家可帮助那些不易达到性高潮的女性真正做到“全情投入”。

Kenneth Casey at the University of Michigan explained that people who suffer from chronic pain conditions can be coached to relieve some of their symptoms by altering how they thought。

密歇根大学的肯尼斯 凯西解释说，那些饱受慢性疼痛病折磨的患者就是通过训练自己的大脑来减缓痛苦的感觉的。

Mr Casey said: "The placebo effect is an easy example of practical top-down control. You believe you are taking a pill that will help and somehow it does. In my experience, simply telling a patient that the pain they are experiencing is not harmful has an analgesic effect."

他说：“这种安慰剂效应就是典型的“自上而下”的控制结果。根据我的经验，当你告诉病人他的疼痛不会对身体造成影响时，他就真的能感觉到不会那么疼了。”

It is hoped that by allowing women with anorgasmia to watch their brain activity in real time, they too will be able to "train" their brain to copy the same activity of women who can experience orgasm。

如果让那些不易获得性高潮的女性观看自己的脑部活动情况，她们或许能通过“训练”自己的大脑模仿那些经历性高潮的女性的脑部活动，从而达到性高潮。

Barry Komisaruk from Rutgers University in Newark also conducted experiments into the female orgasm。

罗格斯大学的巴利 科密萨卢克也展开过这方面的实验。

He added: "Orgasm is a special case of consciousness. If we can look at different ways of inducing orgasm, we may better understand how we can use top-down processing to control what we physically feel."

他补充说：“性高潮是一种特殊的意识状态。如果我们了解获得性高潮的各种途径，我们也许就能搞清楚为什么我们可以通过“训练”大脑来控制自身的感受。”