If you could trick your brain into perceiving an activity as pleasurable, thus activating dopamine receptors, could you enhance learning capacity? Do virtual simulations of people engaging in sex have the potential for triggering the reward responses of neurons (i.e., growing neurons)? Did I mention that the TV at Braincrave.com's SL home has free porn?

FTA: "It has been known for quite some time that exercise promotes neurogenesis, but now a study... claims that the most intimate form of exercise - sexual activity - can produce the same effects. And better yet- having multiple, repeated sexual experiences results in a greater positive effect than a single experience alone. Added bonus: it reduces anxiety as well... Who doesn't want to hear that lots of sex is beneficial on multiple cognitive levels? ...Here's a question to ponder: If sex makes you smarter via changes in synaptic strength following the act, can you get the same benefit from virtual sex, as long as your brain is convinced it is real at the time? ...why is sex rewarding and pleasurable? And why does it enhance learning? One word: Dopamine... Dopamine, as you may know, has many wonderful functions in the brain: reward, motivation, pleasure, focus and attention- just to name a few. The fact that the subjects in the ICSS study were able to activate those specific dopamine receptors merely in response to a cue was a pretty significant discovery... Basically, you can get the neural benefits of engaging in a pleasurable activity without actually having to do anything other than trick your brain into thinking it is getting the reward. This can be done via conditioning or paired association learning, like in the mentioned ICSS study, but what about more technologically induced ways? Like Virtual Reality? ...Some of my transhumanist friends swear that by the time we perfect Full-Immersion Virtual Reality, humans will no longer need or want to have sexual intercourse. Now, I am not saying that is my personal stance on the issue, but they do have a point in some respects."

Sex Makes You Smarter- Can 'Virtual Sex' Do The Same?

DISCUSS!