Sexual arousal

Psychogenic dysfunction occurs if a patient does not respond to psychic arousal. It occurs in up to 30% of all cases of ED. Common causes include performance anxiety, strained relationships, lack of sexual arousability, and overt psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.5 It is postulated that the anxious or nervous man will have excessive stimulation of the sympathetic system, leading to smooth muscle contraction of arterioles and vascular spaces within erectile tissue.6 O Many patients may initially have organic dysfunction, but develop a psychogenic component as they try to cope with their inability to achieve an erection. It has been estimated that up to 80% of ED cases have an organic cause, with many having a psychogenic component as well.1... 

Benton, D. and Wasted, V. (1986) Effects of androstenol on human sexual arousal. Biol. Psychol. 22, 141-147. 

There also are lawlike interactions between particular emotions, such as the inhibition of interest by fear, or the enhancement of sexual arousal by love. And of course we may experience blends of affects as we contemplate or execute a course of action (see McDougall, 1923 on blends). It is well known to ethologists that blends of emotional expressions can occur in humans and animals (e.g., Lorenz, 1953, cited in Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1989). 

Vasopressin release is associated with sexual arousal and oxytocin release with orgasm. Oxytocin also may play a role in sexual satiety. (Murphy, et ah, 1987 reviewed Carter, 1992.)... 

Activation of the parasympathetic branch causes pupillary dilation, increases salivation, constricts lung bronchi, decelerates heart rate, increases digestion, and stimulates conversion of glycose to glycogen. Whereas the parasympathetic branch is involved in physiological sexual arousal, the sympathetic branch is involved in the physiological aspect of orgasm. 

Khat produces effects similar to those of other monoamine stimulants, (i.e., increases in mental stimulation, physical endurance, elevated mood) (Widler etal. 1994 Kalix 1994 Brenneisen etal. 1990). Stimulus generalization occurs between cathinone, amphetamine, and cocaine, suggesting similar subjective effects (Huang and Wilson 1986). Similar to other monoamine stimulants, cathinone causes dose-dependent reductions in eating and body weight (Islam et al. 1990 Zelger and Carlini 1980). Oral cathinone increases sexual arousal in rats, but does not affect erectile or ejaculatory responses (Taha et al. 1995). 

Meston CM, Heiman JR. (1998). Ephedrine-activated physiological sexual arousal in women. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 55(7) 652-56. 

Biochemistry provides the explanation for Porter s observations a decrease in the plasma concentration of testosterone could account for the inability to perform whilst die reduced extent of feedback inhibition on die pituitary would lead to an increased rate of secretion and hence an increase in die blood concentration of luteinising hormone, which has been claimed to increase the degree of sexual arousal in men. 

The advantage of this division of labour is not obvious but one possibility is that secretion of testosterone by the cells not only provides a precursor for oestradiol but provides a hormone that is secreted into the bloodstream to influence, perhaps surprisingly, sexual activity in women, particularly sexual arousal and interest. 

Little is known about the biochemistry that is involved in these various stages. Two biochemical topics discussed here are the role of orgasms and sexual arousal in men, which results in penile errection. 

Individual recognition can be important for selecting and correctly recognizing mates, reducing aggression, incest avoidance, and sexual re-arousal, in the Coolidge effect (named after an anecdote about a US President and refers to increased sexual arousal with a new mating partner) (Dewsbury, 1981). 

Humans Regulates appetite, controls depression, disorder, sleep, sexual arousal, etc. Gutierrez and Queener (2003)... 

Research suggests a sexual dimorphism that AVP is important for pair bonding in male prairie voles, while OT is important for pair bonding in female prairie voles (Insel and Hulihan, 1995). Arginine-vasopressin is secreted during sexual arousal in humans. However, the exact role of the peptide in social bonding among humans remains unclear. 

Priapism is an abnormal, painful, and persistent erection, not related to sexual arousal, which can be caused by a variety of conditions (e.g., neurological, hematological, local trauma, and scorpion or black widow spider bites). Its occurrence also has been associated with various drugs, including the following ... 

It could be argued that the whole vast motivational economy of sexual stimulation is based entirely on managing appetite, since orgasm itself is available at will. Because sexual arousal without satiation leads to comparatively minor physical pangs—vesicle engorgement in males and unwanted secretions in females—it seems to be the converse of the appetite for food, which does not support fantasy well and which opens the person to far more intense physical pangs.3... 

FIGURE 14—2. Psychopharmacology of the human sexual response, part 2. Sexual arousal in peripheral genitalia is accompanied by erections in men and lubrication and swelling in women. Both nitric oxide and acetylcholine mediate these actions. 

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