Week 4 - Psychophysiological sex research

Question 1

Physiological factors

Answer 1

1. Erection
2. Lubrication
3. Breathing
4. Heart rate
5. Muscle tension

Question 2

Emotional factors

Answer 2

1. Excitement
2. Desire
3. Passion
4. Ecstasy
5. Satisfaction

Question 3

measuring sex

Answer 3

1. Questionnaires
2. Psychophysiological

Question 4

Specific physiological sexual responses

Answer 4

Men:
* Increase in volume of corpora cavernosa
* Erection

Women:
* Increase in volume of corpora cavernosa
* Increase in blood flow to vaginal wall
* Lubrication

Question 5

Barlow strain gauge

Answer 5

Measures penile circumference

Question 6

Photoplethysmograph

Answer 6

Changes in blood volume in the walls of the vagina

Question 7

Issues in psychophysiological sex research

Answer 7

• Objective assessment, experimental control (cause & effect)
• Small samples (selection bias)
• Ethical (sex = private subject)

Question 8

Possibilities for psychophysiological sex research

Answer 8

1. Effect of psychological and pharmacological manipulations, disease, surgical interventions
2. Differences between individuals with and without sexual dysfunction
3. Relationship between genital response and sexual feelings
4. Underlying mechanisms of sexual desire, arousal, orgasm (and disorders of these)

Question 9

Conscious vs unconscious

Answer 9

Neat and slow pathway (conscious): Sensory thalamus –> sensory cortex + hippocampus –> amygdala

Quick and dirty pathway: Sensory thalamus –> amygdala

Conscious: “this is sexual”
Unconscious: “I feel sexual arousal” –> physiological response

Question 10

Results rombouts et al. Recognition task

Answer 10

• Percentage of correct classification was below chance level for all target categories
• The target pictures were therefore not consciously perceived

Brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens

Question 11

Conclusion Rombouts et al.

Answer 11

• Unconsciously processed sexual stimuli activate emotion-motivation systems in the brain * Dopamine influences this activity: more increases it, less decreases it

Question 12

Aim Laan et al.

Answer 12

What determines sexual feelings? Is this different in men and women?

Question 13

Hypothesis Laan et al.

Answer 13

Women’s sexual feelings are determined more by the evaluation of the context and nature of the stimulus

Question 14

Result Laan et al.

Answer 14

Genital response:
* Men: no significant difference between films
* Women: No significant difference between films

Question 15

Conclusions Laan et al.

Answer 15

• In women, genital response does not predict sexual feelings
• In women, sexual feelings are determined more by meanings associated with the stimulus context
• In men, sexual feelings are determined more by intensity of genital response

Question 16

Implication 1: unconscious activation

Answer 16

1. Motivation process has already been activated before the individual is conscious of this
2. Helps in understanding why sexual responses can be difficult to control (such as in hypersexuality)
3. Possibilities for pharmacological regulation?

Question 17

Implications 2: research on relationship between genital - subjective

Answer 17

1. Automatic genital response is not evidence of positive sexual experience
2. Complaints of reduced sexual arousal do not necessarily indicate disturbed genital response
3. Meaning of the stimulus and the context are important for women’s sexual feelings
4. Pharmacological treatment aimed at increasing the genital response is an option for men, but not a solution for most women