Disorders in sexual desire and sexual arousal in women, a 2010 state of the art

Abstract

In this contribution, female sexual desire and arousal disorders are viewed from the perspective of incentive motivation and information processing models of sexual response. The effects of hormones, somatic disease, and medication on sexual arousability are discussed, as well as the influence of psychological factors, such as stimulus meaning, mood and cognition, and relational context on female sexual desire and arousal. Specific topics to attend to during the anamnesis of sexual desire and arousal problems, and empirically evaluated psychological and pharmacological treatments for these problems are discussed.

Psychophysiological Correlates of Sexually and Non-Sexually Motivated Attention to Film Clips in a Workload Task

“…Sexual motivation is an internal state influenced by a complex relationship among several factors that determine engagement in sexual activity [1], [2], [3], [4]. To understand the psychophysiological correlates of sexual motivation and behavior, the effect of exposure to visual sexual content on both central nervous system (e.g., Event Related Potentials - ERP) and peripheral measures (e.g., Skin Conductance Level ) has been widely studied [5], [6].…”

Paroxetine-induced reduction of sexual incentive motivation in female rats is not modified by 5-HT1B or 5-HT2C antagonists

“…It could be argued that these latter effects are consequences of reduced desire, in the way that a woman without sexual desire has no reason to be sexually aroused or to obtain orgasm. Indeed, the close interrelationship between desire and arousal has become widely recognized (Both et al 2008(Both et al , 2010Everaerd and Laan 1995). Another explanation for the lack of effect of paroxetine on pacing behaviors is that sexual arousal and orgasm in women are controlled by factors different from those controlling the stereotyped motor patterns constituting female rat sexual behavior.…”

A randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory study of the effects of D-cycloserine on sexual memory consolidation in women

“…Although, as noted before, our results should be considered as inconclusive due to several limitations precluding inferences about learning effects, they may tentatively indicate that besides extinction learning, DCS may also facilitate memory consolidation of new positive sexual associations. And this can be relevant for treatment of low sexual interest and arousal disorder, but also for treatment for maladaptive low motivation such as in anhedonia which strive to target deficits in appetitive responding, by enhancing the anticipation, consumption and learning of reward (Both 2017;Both et al 2010;Craske et al 2016). However, to determine the relevance for treatment of disorders such as low sexual interest and arousal, of course, it should first be examined whether conditioning and effects of DCS in a sexually functional population can be extrapolated to populations with sexual dysfunction (Both et al 2017a;Brom et al 2014a).…”

“…However, pharmacological enhancement of CBT for disorders characterized by maladaptive low motivation may also be an interesting option. CBT for maladaptive low motivation such as in anhedonia or low sexual interest strives to target deficits in appetitive responding, by enhancing the anticipation, consumption and learning of reward (Both, Laan, & Schultz 2010;Both et al 2017b;Craske et al 2016;ter Kuile et al 2010). A recent study in rats showing a facilitating effect of a new NMDA agonist, Rapastinel, on positive emotional learning (Khan et al 2018), and older studies showing enhancing effects of DCS on socio-sexual behaviour (McAllister 1994) and conditioned flavour-taste preference (Golden and Houpt 2007), indicate that DCS may be helpful in the facilitation of appetitive learning.…”