The female orgasm may have its roots in evolution as an aid to conception, researchers say. During their study, researchers from Yale University in the US noted that while the role of the male orgasm is clear – providing the sperm to the egg, that of the ultimate sexual pleasure in the woman remains a mystery. Today, there is no clear role in reproductive success or the number of children, so researchers have long tried to determine why women experience orgasm. This is explained by Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Günter Wagner. He, along with Mihaela Pavlitsev of the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, are studying other mammals, aiming to find clues related to the evolution of the female orgasm – the synthesis of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. Among many mammals, the orgasm-like reflex has been found to play a role in ovulation—specifically, it helps stimulate the release of eggs from the ovaries. NEWS_MORE_BOX Although there is a wide variety of mammals today, this trait may have been necessary for ovulation in species that are ancestral to humans. Later in evolution, this orgasm-like reflex becomes redundant, leaving orgasm with its secondary roles. The Yale researchers also add that the clitoris appears to have shifted out of its anatomical position through evolution. So today it is less likely to be directly stimulated during intercourse. The data of the study are placed in the pages of the journal JEZ-Molecular and Developmental Evolution.