Women's sexual arousal concurrently assessed by three genital measures

Henson, Claudia; Rubin, H. B.; Henson, Donald E.

doi:10.1007/bf01541413

Cited by 54 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The physiological response that researchers measure for men (i.e., penile erection) is an external cue of men's sexual arousal, whereas the physiological response typically measured in women (i.e., vaginal blood flow) is a less obvious cue and may be less perceptible to women (Henson, Rubin, & Henson, 1979). Men's greater access to their genital responses may result in higher sexual concordance, and women may exhibit higher sexualconcordanceifresearchersmeasuredamoreaccessiblegenital response as well.…”

Section: Sex Differences In Various Forms Of Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 98%

Is Sexual Concordance Related to Awareness of Physiological States?

Suschinsky

Lalumière

2012

Arch Sex Behav

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Sexual concordance refers to the degree to which two aspects of human sexual arousal (genital response and self-reported sexual arousal) correspond with each other. Researchers have consistently reported a sex difference in sexual concordance: The relationship between genital responses and reported feelings of sexual arousal in men is positive and large, whereas the relationship in women is positive but much smaller than that seen in men. The study of interoception--people's awareness of their physiological states--reveals a similar sex difference: Men are more aware of a variety of (non-genital) responses (e.g., heart rate) than women in the laboratory. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the sex difference in sexual concordance was related to a broader sex difference in interoception. Twenty men and 20 women were presented with twelve 90 s sexual and non-sexual film clips while their genital responses, heart rate, and respiration rate were measured. Participants also estimated their physiological responses. As expected, men were significantly more sexually concordant than women. Men were also significantly more aware of their heart rate, but there was no significant sex difference in respiration rate awareness. Sexual concordance was not significantly correlated with either heart rate or respiration rate awareness. The results suggest that the sex difference in sexual concordance may be a unique phenomenon, separate from general awareness of physiological states.

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Section: Sex Differences In Various Forms Of Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 98%

Is Sexual Concordance Related to Awareness of Physiological States?

Suschinsky

Lalumière

2012

Arch Sex Behav

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“…Instructions to each woman at the beginning of both sessions were similar to those provided by and Henson et al (1979). A female experimenter identified anatomical structures of the female external genitalia using a drawing by Netter (1961, Section VI-Plate 2), and demonstrated proper attachment of the thermistorclip to the minor labium by using a clay model.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The procedure is relatively easy to use, and it can provide two simultaneous measures (vaginal pressure pulse from AC amplification of the signal from the photosensor, and vaginal blood volume from DC amplification) that consistently increase during sexual stimulation. For example, increases in vaginal blood volume have been recorded during erotic films (Geer, Morokof, and Greenwood, 1974;Henson, Rubin, and Henson, 1979;Hoon, 1976, 1977;van Dam, Honnebler, van Zalinge, and Barendregt, 1976;Wincze, Hoon, and Hoon, 1976, 1977, during erotic audio-recordings and sexual fantasy (Heiman, 1976(Heiman, , 1977, and during masturbation (Geer and Quartararo, 1976;van Dam et a., 1976). Similarly, vaginal pressure pulse has been demonstrated to increase during erotic films (Geer et al, 1974;Henson et a., 1979;Lawson, 1976, 1978), during audio-recordings and sexual fantasy (Gillan, 1976;Heiman, 1976Heiman, , 1977 and during masturbation (Geer and Quartararo, 1976;Gillan, 1976;Sarrel, Foddy, and McKinnon, 1977 (Heiman, 1976(Heiman, , 1977Henson et al, 1979).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, another method of directly assessing women's genital vasocongestive reactions, which measures changes in temperature of the minor labia, has been developed (Henson, Ru-bin, Henson, and Williams, 1977). Labial temperature changes elicited by erotic films were reported to correlate significantly with concurrently recorded changes in both vaginal blood volume Henson et al, 1979) and vaginal pressure pulse (Henson et al, 1979) in most subjects. Labial temperature changes were also reported to be correlated with subjective estimates of sexual arousal at a similar level as vaginal pressure pulse (Henson et al, 1979) and much higher than vaginal blood volume Henson et al, in press).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the Consistency of Objective Measures of Sexual Arousal in Women

Henson

Rubin

Henson

1979

J of App Behav Analysis

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Eight adult women volunteers viewed the same erotic film in two different sessions. Their resulting genital responses were recorded simultaneously by three different measures: vaginal pressure pulse, vaginal blood volume, and labial temperature change. During the erotic stimulation, the vaginal pressure pulse and labial responses always increased, and the vaginal blood volume response increased on all but two occasions. Although there was considerable intersubject variability in each genital measure, all three measures were found to have some intrasubject consistency over sessions with respect to either their response amplitudes or patterns, with labial temperature being the most consistent on both parameters. The relationship between the response patterns of the three measures during the film was also relatively consistent across sessions, as was the correspondence between subjective ratings of arousal and both vaginal pressure pulse and labial responses but not vaginal blood volume response. To overcome the problem of considerable intrasubject variability of response amplitudes, it was suggested that the inclusion in the data analysis of several parameters of response patterns, which were relatively stable over sessions, might facilitate the evaluation of a treatment.DESCRIPTORS: genital responses, objective measures, reliability, womenIt has been well documented that genital vasocongestion and myotonia are the primary physiological manifestations of sexual arousal for both men and women (Masters and Johnson, 1966). At the present time, however, considerably more is known about how various factors influence the sexual responding of men than women. This has occurred because it has been much easier to objectively measure the genital vasocongestion (penile erection) of men. There is an extensive literature indicating that penile erection, as objectively measured by volumetric changes of the penis by a penile plethysmograph (Freund, Sedlacek, and Knob, 1965) or circumference changes of the penis by either a mercury-in-rubber (Bancroft, Jones, and Pullan, 1966) or mechanical (Barlow, Becker, Leitenberg, and Agras, 1970)

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“…Physiological measurement of sexual response in natal women has taken place for nearly four decades and includes a variety of techniques including the vaginal photoplethysmograph [20], labial thermistor [21], heated electrode [22], and genital magnetic resonance imaging [23]. These methods provide indirect indices of genital sexual arousal based on physiological properties of the genital tissue.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychophysiological and subjective sexual arousal to visual sexual stimuli in new women

Brotto

Gehring

Klein

et al. 2005

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Conflicting data exist regarding the sexual arousal patterns of post-operative male-to-female (MTF) women with Gender Identity Disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine objective and subjective aspects of the sexual arousal response using a vaginal photoplethysmograph. Fifteen MTF women viewed neutral and erotic audiovisual film segments while their blood flow patterns were monitored. Subjective measures of affect and sexual arousal were taken before and immediately after the films. There was a significant increase in self-reported subjective arousal, perceived genital arousal, perceived autonomic arousal, and positive affect; however, movement artefacts interfered with our assessment of the genital arousal response. MTF women reported both low levels of pain and low levels of awareness of the vaginal probe during testing. These data are discussed in the context of differences in pelvic musculature between natal and new women and have implications for future studies that aim to measure sexual arousal objectively in MTF women.Keywords: Gender identity disorder, male-to-female transsexual, sex reassignment surgery, vaginal photoplethysmography, sexual arousal Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is diagnosed when an individual experiences (1) a strong, persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex), and (2) a significant discomfort with his or her sex or a sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex (termed gender dysphoria) [1]. GID should be distinguished from Transvestic Fetishisma form of cross-dressing that the DSM-IV-TR describes as often being associated with intense sexual fantasies or sexual urges. In a small number of individuals with transvestic fetishism, there is also the persistent desire to live and dress permanently as the opposite sex, in which case the diagnosis becomes Transvestic Fetishism with Gender Dysphoria.Views on GID have changed considerably over the last three decades, from attempting to ''treat'' individuals with the disorder through various behavioural therapies [2,3], to focusing on quality of life via surgical techniques that preserve sexual function [4,5]. The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association was established in 1978 to provide Standards of Care for health professionals treating individuals with GID. According to the Standards of Care published in 1998 [6], Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) is considered to be ''effective. . .when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated, and [is] medically necessary''. Research on the long-term results of SRS in individuals with GID includes studies examining physical function [7], psychological function [8], and satisfaction with surgery [9]. For example, a large retrospective study on 232 male-to-female (MTF) women at least one year following SRS indicated that 96% were happy with the surgical results and 97% experienced improved quality of life as a result [5]. Moreover, no individuals rep...

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Women's sexual arousal concurrently assessed by three genital measures

Cited by 54 publications

References 14 publications

Is Sexual Concordance Related to Awareness of Physiological States?

Is Sexual Concordance Related to Awareness of Physiological States?

Analysis of the Consistency of Objective Measures of Sexual Arousal in Women

Psychophysiological and subjective sexual arousal to visual sexual stimuli in new women

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