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Chapter 6 Sexual Arousal and Response

Chapter 6 Sexual Arousal and Response. Last time:. Cultural factors influence sexual arousal The cerebral cortex and limbic system regulate sexual arousal Touch, sight, smell, taste, and sound all contribute to arousal

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Chapter 6 Sexual Arousal and Response

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  1. Chapter 6Sexual Arousal and Response

  2. Last time: • Cultural factors influence sexual arousal • The cerebral cortex and limbic system regulate sexual arousal • Touch, sight, smell, taste, and sound all contribute to arousal • Aphrodisiacs enhance sexual desire and performance, anaphrodisiacs inhibit these things

  3. hormones and sexual arousal

  4. The Role of Hormones in Sexual Behavior • Steroid hormones (oily): • Androgens (including testosterone) • Produced by testes, adrenal glands, and ovaries • Estrogens • Produced by ovaries and testes • Women and men produce both types • Neuropeptide hormones (dissolve in water): • Oxytocin: the “love hormone” • Produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland

  5. Sex Hormones in Male Sexual Behavior • Testosterone • Linked to sexual desire and genital sensitivity • Castration leads to reduced sexual desire • Antiandrogen drugs reduce testosterone in the bloodstream and have a similar effect to castration • Sometimes used to treat sex offenders, but doesn’t always prevent them from re-offending • Hypogonadism: testosterone deficiency due to endocrine disease or, in some cases, aging

  6. Sex Hormones in Female Sexual Behavior • Estrogens • Overall link between estrogen and female sexual behavior is unclear • Estrogen Therapy (ET) in postmenopausal women is reported to increase vaginal lubrication and sexual desire, pleasure, and orgasmic capacity • Perhaps an indirect effect of increased self-confidence • Testosterone is the major libido hormone in females • Testosterone treatment in women with low sex drive increased it • Women with higher sex drive tend to have naturally higher T

  7. How Much Testosterone Is Necessary? • Two forms of testosterone (5% free and 95% bound) • Free testosterone linked to libido • Although women have less free testosterone, their cells are more sensitive to it than men’s • Too much testosterone is linked to adverse effects: salt retention, fluid retention, hair loss, androgenizing effects in women • Testosterone levels decrease with age • Fairly rapid decrease for women at menopause; more gradual decline for men • Testosterone Replacement Therapy occasionally used to treat sexual dysfunction in men; more rare in women

  8. Oxytocin and Sexual Behavior • The “love hormone” • Also plays a role in trust • Secreted during cuddling and physical intimacy • Causes increased skin sensitivity • High levels associated with orgasmic release for women and men • For women, stimulates contractions of uterine wall during orgasm and during childbirth

  9. sexual response

  10. 2 models of sexual response • Masters and Johnson 1966: 4-stage model • Helen Singer Kaplan 1979: 3-stage model

  11. Kaplan’s 3-stage model of sexual response

  12. Master’s and Johnson’s Four Phases: • Excitement • Plateau • Orgasm • Resolution • Two basic physiological processes • Vasocongestion: engorgement of penis or vagina with blood; other areas such as the nipples and earlobes can also become engorged • Myotonia: increased muscle tension during sexual arousal

  13. Sexual Response Cycle

  14. Female Sexual Response

  15. Male Sexual Response

  16. Orgasm • Shortest phase of sexual response cycle • Men and women’s subjective descriptions of orgasm are similar • Most female orgasms result from stimulation of the clitoris • Grafenberg spot • Area on lower front wall of vagina • Sensitive to pressure • Sometimes results in “ejaculation”

  17. Aging & Sexual Response Cycle • Older women • Response cycle continues, but with decreased intensity • Excitement: • Vaginal lubrication begins more slowly, reduced amount • Plateau: • decreased vagina flexibility • Orgasm: • number of uterine contractions decrease • Resolution: • occurs more rapidly

  18. Aging and the Sexual Response Cycle • Older men • Response cycle continues, with changes in intensity and duration of response • Excitement: • lengthened time to erection • Plateau: • able to sustain plateau phase longer • Orgasm: • reduced muscular contractions and force of ejaculation • Resolution: • occurs more rapidly • refractory period lengthens

  19. Age-Related Changes in the Sexual Response Cycle

  20. Sex Differences in Sexual Response • Greater variability in female response • Male refractory period • Women can experience multiple orgasms

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