Neuroendocrine response to film-induced sexual arousal in men and women

Exton, Natalie G.; Truong, Trinh Chau; Exton, Michael S.; Wingenfeld, Sabine A.; Leygraf, Norbert; Saller, Bernhard; Hartmann, Uwe; Schedlowski, Manfred

doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(99)00049-9

Cited by 98 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…These studies revealed that sexual arousal and orgasm produced transient sympathoadrenal activation and a pronounced increase in plasma prolactin concentrations in men and women, independent of whether orgasm was induced by masturbation or coitus (Krüger et al 1998, Exton et al 1999. Further investigations demonstrated that increases in plasma prolactin during sexual stimulation did not occur without orgasm (Exton et al 2000). Together, these studies suggested prolactin to be a specific endocrine marker of orgasm in men and women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men

Krüger¹,

Haake²,

Chereath³

et al. 2003

Journal of Endocrinology

158

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We have demonstrated that sexual activity produces transient sympathoadrenal activation and a pronounced, longlasting increase in prolactin in men and women. However, by analyzing endocrine alterations at 10-min intervals, a precise assignment of these changes to the pre-, peri-and postorgasmic periods was not possible. Thus, the current study aimed to accurately differentiate the endocrine response to sexual arousal and orgasm in men using an automatic blood collection technique with 2-min sampling intervals. Blood was drawn continuously before, during and after orgasm over a total period of 40 min in 10 healthy subjects and were compared with samples obtained under a control condition. Sexual activity induced transient increases of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine levels during orgasm with a rapid decline thereafter. In contrast, prolactin levels increased immediately after orgasm and remained elevated throughout the experiment. Although oxytocin was acutely increased after orgasm, these changes were not consistent and did not reach statistical significance. Vasopressin, LH, FSH and testosterone plasma concentrations remained unaltered during sexual arousal and orgasm. These data confirm that prolactin is secreted after orgasm and, compared with oxytocin, seems to represent a more reliable and sustained marker for orgasm in man. The results further reinforce a role for prolactin either as a neuroendocrine reproductive reflex or as a feedback mechanism modulating dopaminergic systems in the central nervous system that are responsible for appetitive behavior.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men

Krüger¹,

Haake²,

Chereath³

et al. 2003

Journal of Endocrinology

158

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This series of studies demonstrated substantial increases in plasma prolactin following orgasm in both men and women, 3 -5 but unaltered prolactin levels following sexual arousal without orgasm. 6 Further, plasma prolactin concentrations were elevated for at least 60 min following orgasm. Due to the known impact of prolactin on sexual drive and function, these data suggest that prolactin may contribute to a feedback control of the refractory period following orgasm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Absence of orgasm-induced prolactin secretion in a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject

et al. 2002

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In several studies we have recently demonstrated that orgasm induces prolactin secretion in healthy males and females. This suggests that prolactin may form a feedback regulator of the refractory period following orgasm. To examine this position we investigated the prolactin response of a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject. Blood was drawn continuously during masturbation-induced orgasm. The prolactin response of the case-subject was compared with that of nine healthy adult men with a normal refractory period. The case-subject showed no prolactin response to three orgasms. Data from this multi-orgasmic subject support the hypothesized role of plasma prolactin in contributing to sexual-satiation mechanisms.

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“…Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analyses were then applied to the artifact-free data in 2-s epoch samples, with the spectral graph ranging from 0.5 -30 Hz at 0.5 Hz-resolution. FFTs were performed using EEGmagic software [38] to calculate: 1) absolute power (AP), defined as the power density of each frequency band expressed in microvolts squared (μV2/Hz); 2) relative power (RP), the proportional contribution of each band to total power across 1 -30 Hz and; 3) correlation, the degree of functional coupling between the prefrontal and parietal or temporal cortices in each one of the six frequency bands monitored: namely, delta (1 -3.5 Hz), theta (4 -7.75 Hz), alpha1 (8 -10.5 Hz), alpha2 (11 -13.5 Hz), beta1 (14 -19.5 Hz) and beta2 (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). Correlation values were averaged over all epochs of the same condition for each subject and pair of derivations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of erotic films in eliciting sexual arousal in humans [21][22][23] using both, questionnaires or verbal reports as well as objective measures (changes of the penile circumference) [24,25]. Associated with this sexual arousal state induced by observation of erotic films, characteristic EEG changes has been reported, such as increases in the fast frequencies and decreases in the synchronization between cortical areas of young men [26][27][28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Suppresses the Electroencephalographic Response to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Young Men

Hernández‐González¹,

Sanz-Martín²,

Guevara³

et al. 2012

JBBS

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Although the combination of alcohol and sex is frequently observed in human social interaction, many questions concerning alcohol's effects on the processing of sexual stimuli and brain functionality remain unanswered. Erotic films eliciting sexual arousal in humans and affect electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. This study examines the effects of alcohol on cortical EEG activity in young men while viewing an erotic film. Heterosexual males participated in an independent alcohol/placebo group protocol. Thirty-five minutes after beverage ingestion, EEGs were recorded at prefrontal, temporal and parietal derivations in three conditions: baseline, and while watching erotic and neutral films. During the observation of erotic films, only the participants who drank the placebo beverage showed a decrease in alpha1 and an increase in the fast frequencies of the prefrontal regions, as well as a decrease in inter-prefrontal synchronization in the alpha and beta bands. Alcohol suppressed the prefrontal EEG changes associated with watching erotic visual stimuli without affect the sexual arousal. EEG data show that alcohol affecting the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which could interfere with the adequate processing of visual erotic stimuli. These findings may contribute to improving our understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie alcohol's effects on the processing of sexual stimuli.

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Neuroendocrine response to film-induced sexual arousal in men and women

Cited by 98 publications

References 30 publications

Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men

Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men

Absence of orgasm-induced prolactin secretion in a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject

Alcohol Suppresses the Electroencephalographic Response to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Young Men

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