Using the Dual Control Model to Investigate the Relationship Between Mood, Genital, and Self-Reported Sexual Arousal in Men and Women.

Recent findings suggest that there is considerable interindividual variability in how mood affects sexual arousal and that the dual control model may be helpful in explaining this variation. The current research investigated whether mood interacted with sexual excitation and inhibition proneness to predict subjective and genital arousal. In this study, 33 participants (18 men; 15 women), ages 18 to 45, attended three laboratory sessions where they completed questionnaires assessing preexisting mood and propensity for sexual excitation and inhibition, then watched a series of neutral and sexually explicit films. Subjective sexual arousal was continuously indicated during each film, while genital temperature was measured using thermographic imaging. Sexual excitation and inhibition interacted with various mood scores to significantly predict both subjective and genital arousal in men and women. Several gender differences were found. For example, vigor scores interacted with sexual excitation proneness to significantly predict genital but not subjective arousal in women, while the same interaction significantly predicted subjective but not genital arousal in men. The findings supported the hypothesis that the dual control model is an important framework in understanding how mood influences both subjective and genital sexual arousal.

Devices and Methods to Measure Female Sexual Arousal.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple methods and devices are available for the assessment of female sexual response, each with strengths and limitations that can impact interpretation of research results. As such, it is important to have an understanding of available methodologies and instruments. AIM: To review recent literature on the measurement of female sexual response, and to describe the methods and devices, and their strengths and limitations. METHODS: A literature review was performed regarding methodology and instruments used to quantify female sexual response. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The description of currently available instruments and methods to quantify sexual response in women. RESULTS: Methodologies used to examine female sexual arousal employ a variety of stimuli and instruments to elicit and record sexual response. The variation in research designs across studies highlights the importance of understanding (i) how sexual response is elicited in studies; (ii) what kinds of experimental designs are available for assessing sexual psychophysiology; and (iii) the various types of instrumentation used to collect data. CONCLUSIONS: The physiological and self-reported measurement of female sexual response is crucial to our understanding of the mechanisms and factors involved with healthy sexual functioning. As such, it is important to understand the strengths and limitations associated with different stimuli, research designs, and instruments. Kukkonen TM. Devices and methods to measure female sexual arousal.

An evaluation of the validity of thermography as a physiological measure of sexual arousal in a non-university adult sample.

Thermography is a promising technology for the physiological measurement of sexual arousal in both men and women. This study was designed to extend our previous college student thermography study findings to an older sample (M age = 37.05 years), add an anxiety control group to further examine the specificity of temperature change, and examine the relationship between genital temperature and a continuous measure of subjective sexual arousal. Healthy men (n = 40) and women (n = 39) viewed a neutral film clip after which they were randomly assigned to view one of four other videos: neutral (n = 20), humor (n = 19), anxiety provoking (n = 20) or sexually explicit (n = 20). Genital and thigh temperature were continuously recorded using a TSA ImagIR thermographic camera. Continuous and discrete reports of subjective sexual arousal were also obtained. Results supported the validity of thermography as a measure of sexual arousal: temperature change was specific to the genitals during the sexual arousal condition and was significantly correlated with subjective continuous and discrete reports of sexual arousal. Further development should assess the potential of thermography as a tool for the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of sexual arousal difficulties and for studying sex differences.

Thermography as a physiological measure of sexual arousal in both men and women.

INTRODUCTION: Current physiological measures of sexual arousal are intrusive, hard to compare between genders, and quantitatively problematic. AIM: To investigate thermal imaging technology as a means of solving these problems. METHODS: Twenty-eight healthy men and 30 healthy women viewed a neutral film clip, after which they were randomly assigned to view one of three other video conditions: (i) neutral (N = 19); (ii) humor (N = 19); and (iii) sexually explicit (N = 20). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Genital and thigh temperatures were continuously recorded using a TSA ImagIR camera. Subjective measures of sexual arousal, humor, and relaxation were assessed using Likert-style questions prior to showing the baseline video and following each film. RESULTS: Statistical (Tukey HSD) post-hoc comparisons (P < 0.05) demonstrated that both men and women viewing the sexually arousing video had significantly greater genital temperature (mean = 33.89 degrees C, SD = 1.00) than those in the humor (mean = 32.09 degrees C, SD = 0.93) or neutral (mean = 32.13 degrees C, SD = 1.24) conditions. Men and women in the erotic condition did not differ from each other in time to peak genital temperature (men mean = 664.6 seconds, SD = 164.99; women mean = 743 seconds, SD = 137.87). Furthermore, genital temperature was significantly and highly correlated with subjective ratings of sexual arousal (range r = 0.51-0.68, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in thigh temperature between groups. CONCLUSION: Thermal imaging is a promising technology for the assessment of physiological sexual arousal in both men and women.

Convergent and discriminant validity of clitoral color Doppler ultrasonography as a measure of female sexual arousal.

We examined the convergent and discriminant validity of clitoral ultrasonography as a measure of female sexual arousal by assessing the following: (a) its ability to discriminate between sexual and other forms of arousal; and (b) its correlation with subjective ratings of arousal. Results from 63 healthy premenopausal women indicate that ultrasonography was not successful in differentiating sexual arousal from a humor control condition. Furthermore, there were no significant correlations between clitoral blood-flow measures and subjective sexual arousal. Additional research is required to establish the specificity of ultrasonography as a measure of sexual arousal.