Entry tags:

asd, neurodiversity, neuroscience

Sex is a cure for OCD.
Your Brain's 'Love Chemicals' may also make you Autistic, an article on WrongPlanet.net, links research on OCD and falling in love through the connections both have to the neurochemicals serotonin and oxytocin.  A summary:

Folks with OCD and new lovers both have low serotonin levels.  Consequently, being twitterpated is a lot like having OCD.  My experience leads me to agree.  For example, when I am crushed out on someone, I obsessively think about them and compulsively want to connect with them.  Oxytocin, on the other hand, kicks in after orgasm and seems to have a strong role in romantic relationships which endure.  The article goes on to say:

Interestingly enough, due to the bizarre ways these neuro chemicals interact with your brain, certain levels of Oxytocin may play a role in OCD and Asperger's after all! Why else would the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology publish a study² in 2003 entitled Oxytocin Infusion Reduces Repetitive Behaviors in Adults with Autistic and Asperger's Disorders? This study argues that "repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorders may be related to abnormalities in the oxytocin system, and may be partially ameliorated by synthetic oxytocin infusion." Say what?

Wait. Does this mean that having a lot of sex will decrease the amount of time you spend stimming and also cause you to spend less time focused on your special interests? I have no idea; I'm not a clinical neuropsychopharmacologist.

Hehe.  I wonder what would happen to the state of scientific and artistic progress if all the reclusive, obsessive geniuses were having more orgasms instead of obsessing about their work?  And, I also wonder how many of the mad sex geniuses I know are self-medicating. ;)