It appears that sexual satisfaction involves more than sex hormones, and the brain may be the key to an enjoyable sex life, new study suggests.

Howard P. Greenwald of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and Ruth McCorkle of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., studied the sexual activity of cervical cancer survivors who had both ovaries removed. Cervical cancer treatment eliminates or reduces testosterone, which is considered a key hormone in female sexuality.

Researchers interviewed 179 women who were long-term survivors of surgical treatment for cervical cancer and found that most of them were sexually active and had an enjoyable sex life.

More than 80 percent of the women interviewed reported being sexually active; 81.4 percent declared they “sometimes,” “almost always,” or “always” desired sexual activity and more than 90 percent said they enjoyed sexual activity at least some of the time.

“The presence of sexual interest and satisfaction in the absence of a crucial hormone emphasizes the importance of non-hormonal components of sexual desire and satisfaction,” researcher Howard P. Greenwald of University of Southern California said. “The findings suggest that the key to sexual satisfaction is less about biology and more about psychology.”

The study findings, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, offer a different approach to feminine sexuality and demonstrate the existence of sexual interest and satisfaction in the absence of the hormone factor. “A person’s attitude, relationships and various other factors are just as important, if not more so,” researchers concluded.