Specific factors and methodological decisions influencing brain responses to sexual stimuli in women

Most of the neuroimaging studies on sexual behavior have been conducted with male participants, leading to men-based models of sexual arousal. Here, possible factors and methodological decisions that might influence brain responses to sexual stimuli, specifically for the inclusion of women, will be reviewed. Based on this review, we suggest that future studies consider the following factors: menstrual phase, hormonal contraception use, history of sexual or psychiatric disorders or diseases, and medication use. Moreover, when researching sexual arousal, we suggest future studies assess sexual orientation and preferences, that women should select visual sexual stimuli, and a longer duration than commonly used. This review is thought to represent a useful guideline for future research in sexual arousal, which hopefully will lead to a higher inclusion of women and therefore more accurate neurobiological models of sexual arousal

Do psychogenic erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation share a neural circuit?: evidence from a fMRI systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigated the brain correlates of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (PED) and premature ejaculation (PE), representing the most common sexual dysfunctions in men. These studies allowed a wide set of brain regions in PED and PE patients when compared to healthy men. In the present meta-analysis, we aim at assessing the presence of homogeneity in the cerebral underpinnings of PED and PE. Methods: Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and after the electronic search, duplicate removal and the application of pre-exclusion criteria, nine PED and ten PE studies were considered eligible with a Cohen’s k of 0.84 and 0.75, respectively. The effect sizes of the sociodemographic and psychological/urological dimensions were calculated. We extracted brain clusters from the retrieved studies, comparing patients and controls, and we calculated brain maps with Seed-Based D Mapping software. Results: We found a homogenous involvement of the frontal gyrus and insula in both dysfunctions, suggesting a common network. Conclusions: The anterior insula plays a key role in the processing of emotional features of stimuli, while the posterior insula in interoceptive information is relevant for sexual response. The prefrontal and inferior frontal cortices are important for sexual inhibition/disinhibition

Olfaction and anxiety are differently associated in men and women in cognitive physiological and pathological aging

Background: Olfaction impairment in aging is associated with increased anxiety. We explored this association in cognitively healthy controls (HCs), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Both olfaction and anxiety have sex differences, therefore we also investigated these variances. Objectives: Investigate the association of olfaction with anxiety in three distinct clinical categories of aging, exploring the potential role of sex. Methods: 117 subjects (29 HCs, 43 MCI, and 45 PD patients) were assessed for olfaction and anxiety. We used regression models to determine whether B-SIT predicted anxiety and whether sex impacted that relationship. Results: Lower olfaction was related to greater anxiety traits in all groups (HCs: p = 0.015; MCI: p = 0.001 and PD: p = 0.038), significantly differed by sex. In fact, in HCs, for every unit increase in B-SIT, anxiety traits decreased by 7.63 in men (p = 0.009) and 1.5 in women (p = 0.225). In MCI patients for every unit increase in B-SIT, anxiety traits decreased by 1.19 in men (p = 0.048) and 3.03 in women (p = 0.0036). Finally, in PD patients for every unit increase in B-SIT, anxiety traits decreased by 1.73 in men (p = 0.004) and 0.41 in women (p = 0.3632). Discussion: Olfaction and anxiety are correlated in all three distinct diagnostic categories, but differently in men and women