Sexual Desire

There are countless books on sex and an endless fascination with the subject. Varieties and vagaries of sexual desire have long been documented, but there has been little engagement with cutting-edge scientific research to uncover the biological and psychological bases of sexual desire. Here, Frederick Toates uses the insights of modern science to show how a wide range of desire-related phenomena - fantasy, novelty-seeking, sexual addiction, sex-drug interactions, fetishes, voyeurism, and sexual violence and killing - start to make sense. For example, the role of the brain's neurochemical dopamine can now be much better understood in terms of wanting, and a distinction between wanting and liking has been established. Also, an understanding of the layered organization of the brain, sometimes described as hierarchical, can be used to explain temptation and conflict. This is a fascinating book with great social relevance to society and its problems with sexuality.

Frederick Toates is Emeritus Professor of Biological Psychology at The Open University and Vice-President of the Open University Psychology Society.

Advance praise: 'In this fine book Toates gives a lively tour of the psychology behind 'how sexual desire works'. As a pioneer in motivation theory himself, Toates is an ideal guide into how incentive motivation processes work to produce sexual desires. Beyond psychology, he leads the reader on forays into neuroscience, and includes many excellent quotations as case samples, all to help put the psychology of human sexual desire into better perspective. This is a highly readable and illuminating book.' Kent Berridge, University of Michigan Advance praise: 'A balanced and highly accessible book on the enigma of sexual desire, highlighting the vast range of different sexual desires and the many unanswered questions in this area of research. Borrowing from fictional depictions of desire, as well as a wealth of scientific data, this book will appeal to academics and clinicians across a variety of disciplines as well as the general public.' Cynthia A. Graham, Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton and Research Fellow, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction Advance praise: 'In this eminently readable and enticing book, Fred Toates weaves a golden thread through the disarming topic of sexual desire, linking its many faces - literary, clinical and scientific - together. The implications of his analysis to our understanding of sexual problems and disorders are immense and will likely help create important paradigms for their study. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in motivation and sex, and how we are able to get what we want and like, despite living in a world full of imposed sexual values and inhibitions. A real tour-de-force!' Jim Pfaus, Concordia University Advance praise: 'Bringing together all of the latest scientific research on the topic of sexual desire, Frederick Toates somehow manages to combine a scientific tone with an uncanny ability to engage the reader. An illuminating and beautifully written text by one of the world's leading writers on biological psychology tod