Customer Reviews

Sex on the Brain: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an excellent and very accessible book that primarily looks at what happens in the brain during love, lust, romance, paraphilias, etc. It has a lot of information in it, but it is not overly technical and accessible to the average person. Dr. Amen has a way of simplifying complicated concepts and weaving them into an engaging narrative.

What this book will give you as an understanding of the various parts of the brain and the role they play in our sex lives. It also includes supplements that could be helpful when some areas are over or under active and even typical medications that are used.

The scope of the book is pretty large and covers things like impulsive thoughts, sexual addiction, paraphelias (fetishes), cheating behavior, etc. Anyone who has a sex life will find it very interesting and informative and it will also help you to understand yourself.

Two complimentary books to this one that I highly recommend are: The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating and The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment. These books cover the psychology and some of the evolutionary patterns that gave rise to the way we are hardwired around sex. You can read my review and other reviews to get a better sense of the content, I can't do either book justice in this small space.

Dr. Amen has written a ground breaking book that will help the professional and lay person to learn about the role the brain plays in emotional and sexual intimacy. This exciting book will help you understand how the largest sex organ you have (i.e. Your Brain!!"plays a foundational role in intimacy. Read this book if you want to find that "missing piece" to lasting love. If you are in counseling buy a copy for your psychotheraist and/or physcian to read.This is an excellent book to give to both couples considering marriage or couples who are wanting to ressurect intimacy! Dr. Earl R. Henslin

Daniel Amen combines knowledge from over 30,000 SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) scans that allow him to see the Real Time, qualitative and quantitative brain function; with his superb insights into Human Behavior.

He presents a detailed view of Brain Function every step of the way from Gender Personality Differences, Attraction, Lust, Coupling, and Cohabitation, to breakups and loss of a loved one.

If Freud were alive today, he might well be working at one of Amen's clinics. For the first time in the History of Psychiatry, Investigators in the field are able to define and measure the Biological Underpinnings of Human Behavior. In addition to giving a good portrayal of our sexual existence, Dr. Amen presents some very useful interventions to improve this facet of our lives.

The CD was in WP3 format which was something of a problem to translate, but its contents filled about 6 regular audio CDs. Having spent 33 years attempting a synthesis of Mind and Brain, I found this to be a truly excellent book about a topic that always holds interest, and it is well worth the money.

AS a mental health professional I am so glad that Dr. Amen approached this topic from the practical point of view. In addition, his use of supplements is unique and something i have found useful in my day to day practice. The book reads well and easy. What he has done is brought together new information and blended it well with information that has been available in a practical format. Any couple or individual will be able to learn more about the opposite sex and increase thier pleasure as well as enjoyment of being together.

Dr. Amen has written an excellent, easy to understand book relating the brain to emotional and sexual intimacy. This thorough and exciting book shows not only the professional but the layman as well how the brain interacts with our emotions leading to an active and fulfilling sexual relationship. It clearly shows how the brain is our most important sex organ and when used properly, can lead to a long lasting love. This book is a "must read" in further fulfilling our lives.

Professor David Bennett, California State University San Marcos, California

I am a big fan of Dr. Amen's and have enjoyed his books, CDs and lectures over the years. This book is definately the most fun! Now I finally understand my love of shoes and can help my partner appreciate this as a good thing! The tips for bonding with your partner are invaluable as well. As a nutritionist and exercise physiologist I also appreciated the discussion on the importance of a healthy sex life on your overall health, wellbeing and longevity! Thanks Dr. Amen for another fantastic book that can have a major impact on reader's love lives and health!
JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFI

I read this book the first day it came out and couldn't put it down. At last there's a manual explaining how men think.

This is a nice read, with a good blend of humor, research on the brain and hormones in our body, and the doctor's professional and personal experiences w/ others. Amen does a good job delivering his, and others', brain research, in a way anyone can understand. He is, however, a bit old-fashioned in his views on evolutionary thinking and gender stereotypes. There is also the occasional slip up on sex info., e.g., the claim that self-pleasuring can lead to excessive or addictive activity in vulnerable people. It's a pleasant read, however, if your main aim is to learn about the brain's role in passionate desire, attraction, and love.

Great Book! Dr. Amen does a beautiful job of educating on the differences between male and female brains, the difference between love and lust, and what creates long term emotional connections in the brain. He succeeds in making neuroscience fun!!!

I had never heard about Dr. Daniel Amen until I saw him referenced in another book I was reading about gender influences on the brain. So I ordered the book, thinking "sex" was being used as a synonym for "gender".

While waiting for the book to be delivered, I happened upon a lecture he was giving on PBS television about his work on brain health and SPECT imaging. Seeing this gave me a great introduction to his studies and some insight into this psychiatrist's attitudes toward brain health and its influences on behavior.

Once the book arrived, still thinking the book was about gender influences on the brain, I read the first chapter. It turned out to be a sell job for the importance of an active sex life and how it can give you whiter, brighter teeth and reduce your home heating bills (I'm exaggerating). Realizing the book was about sexual activity, not gender, I was about ready to stop reading.

Then I got into the second chapter where he talks about the major brain systems and how behavior is influenced by over or under activity of these systems. I was hook. I poured through the rest of the book and learned some fascinating information about the direct link between the condition of these systems and human behaviors. To back up his claims, Amen gives examples from his psychiatric practice on problems he encountered during counseling, and how they were corrected through attention to the activity levels of these brain systems.

Skeptics might think Amen's claims of a link between the health of these brain systems and behavior might be correlational versus causal (i.e. the unhealthy brain happened to exist during the unwanted behaviors, but was not causing the behaviors). But Amen uses the results of over 50,000 scans and empirical data to validate how his chemical and nutritional treatments correct these brain systems' activity levels and thus the unwanted behaviors. (He takes a baseline scan, then treats the brain with counseling, drugs and/or nutrition and checks for changes on follow-up scans. From these scans, and his patients' altered behaviors, he has sufficient evidence to show a cause and effect of his approach.)

So the book was disappointing in that I thought it was going to focus on gender, but it was fascinating because of what it was about. One criticism I have about the book, if you are buying it for the sexual slant, is that after the first chapter, his connection between the brain and a healthy sex life seems like an after thought. In other words, he will spend a lot of time talking about the prefrontal cortex and how it plays into violent behavior, then he'll add, "and if your husband is violent, it would be hard to want to have sex with him." (I paraphrase...). It's almost like he gets into his brain discussions and then remembers he's supposed to be showing how his discussion ties into a couple's sexual activities.

All in all I would recommend this book. Especially if you want to know about how the health of the brain influences behavior.