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ORGASM: FIREWORKS IN THE MIND page 26 MInd behavior SPECIAL COLLECTION ON • br ain science • insights w w w. S ci A m M i n d .co m D isp lay u n t il J ul y 7, 20 0 9 Your Sexual Brain How It Rules Your Life What Kisses Mean Their Surprising Power Your Sexuality Do You Have a Choice? Men vs. Women How Our Brains Differ Love for Sale Why Men Buy © 20 09 SCIENTIFIC AMERIC AN, INC . SEX This page intentionally left blank. (from the editor) MInd behavior • BRAIN SCIENCE • insights EDITOR IN CHIEF: John Rennie EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Mariette DiChristina issue EDITOR: Dawn Stover ART DIRECTOR: Patricia Nemoto Issue PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Bridget Gerety Small PRODUCTION EDITOR: Richard Hunt COPY DIRECTOR: Maria-Christina Keller cOPY CHIEF: Daniel C. Schlenoff COPY AND RESEARCH: Smitha Alampur, Rachel Dvoskin, Aaron Fagan, Aaron Shattuck, Kenneth Silber, Kevin Singer, Michelle Wright EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR: Avonelle Wing SENIOR SECRETARY: Maya Harty ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, PRODUCTION: William Sherman MANUFACTURING MANAGER: Janet Cermak ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER: Carl Cherebin PREPRESS AND QUALITY MANAGER: Silvia De Santis PRODUCTION MANAGER: Christina Hippeli CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER: Madelyn Keyes-Milch MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONSUMER MARKETING: Christian Dorbandt ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CONSUMER MARKETING: Anne Marie O’Keefe SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER/RETENTION: Catherine Bussey FULFILLMENT AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Rosa Davis MANAGING DIRECTOR, online: Michael Harbolt VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: c o v er imag e b y ant h o n y mars l an d G e t t y I m a g e s Bruce Brandfon VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND SALES DEVELOPMENT: Michael Voss SALES DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: David Tirpack SALES REPRESENTATIVES: Jeffrey Crennan, Thomas Nolan, Stan Schmidt PROMOTION MANAGER: Diane Schube RESEARCH MANAGER: Aida Dadurian PROMOTION DESIGN MANAGER: Nancy Mongelli Vice president, Finance, and GENERAL MANAGER: Michael Florek BUSINESS MANAGER: Marie Maher MANAGER, ADVERTISING ACCOUNTING AND COORDINATION: Constance Holmes DIRECTOR, ANCILLARY PRODUCTS: Diane McGarvey PERMISSIONS MANAGER: Linda Hertz Sex Puppets How deluded we are. We believe that, with our seemingly all-knowing consciousness, we are masters of our own domain (as Jerry Seinfeld so colorfully put it). In reality, as you will learn in this special issue, the imperatives and influences of sex, the sexes and sexuality all subconsciously shape our behavior in countless ways. If you think your conscious intellect was at work in choosing your romantic partner, for instance, think again. In his feature article “Sex and the Secret Nerve,” starting on page 32, R. Douglas Fields explains how a little appreciated cranial nerve may be pulling your strings: “Many scientists believe that pheromones, those silent chemical messengers exchanged by members of the opposite sex in search of mates, relay subconscious signals to the brain through this obscure nerve.” Our kisses, too, transmit emotional messages that can cement a new relationship — or cause us to end it, as Chip Walter writes in “Affairs of the Lips,” beginning on page 48. People make jokes about the opposing worldviews of “Mars” and “Venus.” But male and female brains really are distinct in their architecture and thinking patterns. Turn to page 40 for “His Brain, Her Brain,” by Larry Cahill, to find out how the sexes differ— and what it means. Men and women may still never understand one another, but at least now we will know why. Choosing a partner is one thing, but how about your sexuality? Probably not, asserts Robert Epstein in “Do Gays Have a Choice?” The story begins on page 62. Same-sex preference is no biological accident of humanity