Masturbating Inside An MRI Machine Is Complicated

It was for science, okay? A group of neuroscientists looked at scans of Mara Altman's brain while she was coming, as part of a study of female orgasms. The science behind all of this is incredibly cool (they’ve discovered that orgasms are natural pain blockers, for instance) and Altman’s article about the whole thing is very interesting, but let’s get to the point: She brought her hot pink dildo to the lab and masturbated while she was inside an MRI machine.

The logistics of this are kind of insane. MRI machines are scarily loud. Altman was wearing a hospital gown, covered by a sheet — you know, for modesty — and earphones, so the scientists could talk to her. Her head was strapped down, because movement (including facial contortions) messes up the imaging. A very nice grad student squirted some lube in her hand before heading back to the control room. After Altman had been aimlessly touching herself for awhile, one of the scientists told her: “You have 10 minutes. Stimulate to orgasm." And she had to raise her hand outside the machine when it happened, so the scientists could look for changes in her brain right at that moment.

I guess if you can come under these circumstances, you can do it anywhere?

[And be sure to check out Nerve's interview with Mara Altman here. — Ed.]