Can I Buy You a Drink?; September 1994; Scientific American Magazine; by Yam; 1 Page(s)

When asked about the effects of alcohol on erotic sensibility, the porter in Macbeth replies, "It [drink] provokes and unprovokes. It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance.¿ The first point, at least, is a given in the popular mind-set (and the second, spoken only in hushed tones).

Now comes a Finnish-Japanese study sure to reinforce an amorous male¿s hope that liquor is the quicker pick-herupper. A group of investigators from Alko, Ltd., the Finnish state alcohol monopoly, the Abo Akademi University and the Shiga University of Medical Science did the work. Their research, published in Nature, indicates that the ordinarily low testosterone levels in women rise dramatically one to two hours after imbibing spiked lingonberry juice. That finding generated some tabloid excitement because increases in testosterone and other androgens are thought to increase sexual interest in both men and women.