By CHRIS BROOKE It’s a mystery to many men and a source of frustration to many women. Now a study of the brain is helping scientists to unlock the secrets of the female orgasm. By using scanners to observe which parts of a woman’s brain become active when they are aroused, researchers have discovered there are at least two ‘pathways to pleasure’. One of them activates when a woman is alone and fantasising with the help of imagination. The other kicks into action when she is being physically stimulated by a lover. The findings, revealed in the New Scientist, have come from two research studies. A U.S. study of solo female volunteers, led by Dr Barry Komisaruk at Rutgers University in New Jersey, analysed MRI scans of women reaching climax to investigate the role of imagination and ‘top-down control’ in triggering a physiological response. It found heightened activity in more than 30 parts of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, an area which controls functions such as decision