Thereafter, we will focus on extant evidence supporting the notion that women exhibit recurring mid-cycle periods of enhanced sexual desire, although not so patent and overt as those displayed by females from other mammalian species. To reach this goal, we will first describe the pattern of sexual behaviour in women.
In this article, we aim to throw light on the controversial topic of whether women have a heat period within their menstrual cycle. However, this hypothesis is not supported by data suggesting that the interplay among various physiological and environmental factors in vertebrate reproductive behaviour is not scaled according to the degree of encephalization or conscious control, but varies according to the particular ecological and social demands that each species faces ( Steklis and Whiteman, 1989). This condition has prompted many researchers to propose that this reproductive trait is ‘lost’ or absent in women as a consequence of the trend from prosimians to humans in cortical expansion and concomitant control over physiological factors ( Steklis and Whiteman, 1989). In contrast to the majority of mammalian species, women do not exhibit an evident and manifest heat period, extending sexual activity to all parts of the ovulatory or menstrual cycle.
Notwithstanding, with regard to ovulation and hormonal levels, the mid-cycle in a catarrhine menstrual cycle is comparable with the estrus stage of the ovarian cycle in the majority of mammals as presented in a review ( Nelson, 1995). In this particular group of primates (suborder Anthropoidea, infraorder Catarrhini), the ovarian cycle is called a menstrual cycle because of the periodic physiological haemorrhage that occurs at ~30 day intervals ( Michael et al., 1976). As mentioned above, the term estrus is not used to refer to the reproductive cycle of Old World monkeys, apes and humans. Due to the multiple usage of the word estrus, in this article we will use the term ‘heat’ to designate the restricted stage of the ovarian cycle at which the female’s sexual demands are made evident to conspecific males and mating takes place. Moreover, the estrus stage of the cycle is not when behavioural estrus occurs since females from most mammalian species allow the male to mate only at the proestrus stage of the ovarian cycle ( Lisk, 1978 Thornton and Finn, 1998). The term estrus, however, is also used to designate the ovulatory cycle (estrous cycle) and to refer to a specific stage of the cycle when ovulation occurs (estrus phase). Estrus literally means ‘in a frenzied state’, due to the fact that when gadflies buzz around cattle they drive them into a frenzy of hyperactive behaviour similar to that exhibited by females at estrus ( Sanders and Bancroft, 1982 Thornton and Finn, 1998). The term estrus comes from the Greek word ‘oistros’ (gadfly). In mammalian females (except Old World monkeys, apes and humans), this periodic sex appeal is referred to as ‘heat’ or ‘estrus’. On the other hand, men find the scent of women at mid-cycle more pleasant and sexually attractive than during the luteal phase.Įstrus, estrous cycle, heat period, menstrual cycle, sexual desireįemales of most vertebrate species exhibit recurring periods of heightened sexual activity in which they are sexually attractive, proceptive and receptive to males. However, studies focused on cycling changes in women’s olfactory and visual perception show that, in comparison with women at other phases of the menstrual cycle, women at mid-cycle exhibit increased sexual motivation that biases recognition performance towards objects with a sexual meaning, evaluate the unattractive sweat substance androstenone as more pleasant, and display enhanced preference for the odour and face shape of masculinized, physically attractive and symmetric men. The lack of a distinct pattern of women’s sexual behaviour across the menstrual cycle may be explained by the interplay between cyclical endocrine fluctuations and many psychological, social, cultural and environmental factors, as well as the methodological shortcomings associated with menstrual cycle research.
The majority of publications in this field report, in addition to a periovulatory peak, no changes at all or even rises in male- and female-initiated sexual activity, woman’s sexual desire, autosexual activity and sexual arousability, and interpersonal sexual activities during the mid-follicular and late luteal phases.
This article aims to throw light on the controversial topic of whether women have a ‘heat’ period within their menstrual cycle.