I'm sure many of us have heard of an experiment in which rats attached to electrodes were given direct jolts of orgasmic pleasure every time they pressed a button. Where and when was this experiment first carried out and what did it prove?

mibmob

McGill university 1958 and it "identified the general region of the medial forebrain bundle and lateral hypothalamus as the most reliable regions [for reward] Read more: http://stills.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/jolds.html Jul 22 04, 10:11 AM

gmackematix

Yay Mibby, you are on the ball today! More to the point, do they make these devices for humans and can I have one wired up in my house? Jul 22 04, 10:14 AM

mibmob

There have been at least two cases where humans got similar treatment, report Paul Abramson and Steven Pinkerton in "With Pleasure: Thoughts on the Nature of Human Sexuality": A male psychiatric patient and a female epileptic had brain electrodes implanted "for therapeutic purposes," and when stimulation occurred in areas of the limbic system, both reported experiencing sexual pleasure. The wired-up guy, in fact, gave the rats a run for their money, hitting the button some 1,500 times an hour! "Not surprisingly, he also begged for a few more jolts just before the apparatus was put away." http://www.hillzoo.com/strangeTrue050304.htm Jul 22 04, 10:15 AM