Chemical Origins of BDSM? (2)

Posted by skyfox on Sat 31 Oct 09, 6:21 PM to skyfox's blog.

We've all seen the "where did your BDSM come from" threads/blogs, so I thought this might be of interest:

NY Times wrote:
Gordon A. Barr of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and their colleagues found that, whereas rats older than 12 days would quickly develop an aversion to any odors that were paired with a mild electric shock, young rats would perversely show a preference for such odors if their mothers were nearby when the tutorial jolt was delivered. The researchers traced that infantile Candide spirit to a suppression of dopamine activity in the amygdala, where fear memories are born. Infant rats know their mother by smell, Dr. Sullivan explained, and they must not learn to avoid her, for even an abusive caretaker is better than none.

source

What is dopamine? "Dopamine affects the brain processes that control movement, emotional response, and ability to experience pleasure and pain. It is believed that regulation of dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health." source

Symptoms of low dopamine include source:

anxiety and mental restlessness
low mood, low motivation and depression
cravings, addictions and obesity
inability to concentrate and poor memory
insomnia
fatigue
low libido
restless legs
and Parkinson's disease

However, one could say that now that we're into BDSM/fetish/kink, aka "paraphilia", we could now have an excess of dopamine. (Scroll down to the excess/deficiency chart in the middle.) But in the grand scheme of the sexual chase, dopamine may be to blame for dom/sub drop, and all the negative feelings that occur after play. (source) But, then again, this is an entirely natural reaction, as dopamine decreases after orgasm.

Was it low dopamine that causes us to give pleasure to pain (or some other non-traditional object)? Is it high dopamine that drives us to seeks out these different activities? Is it a general imbalance? Can BDSM help stabilize dopamine levels over time to create a more "natural" level (like exercise)? Or does it exacerbate it (like boredom)?

Edited Sat 31 Oct 09, 6:23 PM by skyfox

Replies

31 Oct 09, 7:27 PM tanken UK(NR), 2 yrs	It doesn't explain any of the social aspects of bdsm nor why someone might prefer whipping to caning for example. Or what about marathon running or boxing? These involve pain too "Red hair and black leather is my favourite colour scheme" - Richard Thompson
2 Nov 09, 8:30 PM skyfox UK(EH), 4 yrs	Chance, perhaps? The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.