Laboratory-Induced Hyperventilation Differentiates Female Sexual Arousal Disorder Subtypes

The effects of heightened sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity via laboratory-induced hyperventilation (LIH) on subjective and physiological sexual arousal were examined in a heterogeneous group of women with Sexual Arousal Disorder (SAD; n  = 60), as well as across subtypes of SAD, in comparis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of sexual behavior 2009-08, Vol.38 (4), p.463-475
Main Authors: Brotto, Lori A., Klein, Carolin, Gorzalka, Boris B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Female
Humans
Hyperventilation
Interviews as Topic
Medical diagnosis
Medical tests
Middle Aged
Nervous system
Original Paper
Photic Stimulation
Photoplethysmography
Psychology
Public Health
Pulse
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Behavior - physiology
Sexual disorders
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - diagnosis
Social Sciences
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vagina - blood supply
Vagina - physiology
Women
Young Adult
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Summary:The effects of heightened sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity via laboratory-induced hyperventilation (LIH) on subjective and physiological sexual arousal were examined in a heterogeneous group of women with Sexual Arousal Disorder (SAD; n  = 60), as well as across subtypes of SAD, in comparison to a control group of women without sexual difficulties ( n  = 42). Participants took part in 2 min of rapid breathing, a technique previously found to increase SNS activity, immediately prior to viewing erotic stimuli. Physiological arousal (i.e., vaginal pulse amplitude; VPA) was measured via the vaginal photoplethysmograph and subjective arousal was measured via self-report questionnaires. LIH differentiated women with SAD from those in the control group, with LIH increasing VPA in the latter, but having no significant effect in the heterogeneous SAD group. However, among subtypes of SAD, LIH differentiated women with genital ( n  = 16) and subjective ( n  = 16) subtypes of SAD from women with combined SAD ( n  = 28) and women without sexual difficulties. Specifically, women in the control group and those with combined SAD had a significant increase in VPA whereas women with genital or subjective SAD had a significant decrease in VPA following LIH. There was no significant effect of LIH on any self-report measure of sexual arousal following erotic stimuli. Implications of the results for the conceptualization, diagnosis, and treatment of SAD are discussed.
ISSN:0004-0002
1573-2800
DOI:10.1007/s10508-007-9288-7