The Enigma of Sexual Desire, Part 1: A Brief Review of Classical, Historical, Philosophical, and Literary Perspectives

Throughout human history and across cultures, sexual desire has been of interest to the general public and, now more recently, to the medical/psychological community. Part 1 of this two part series examines the historical aspects of the concept of sexual desire throughout its many transformations, beginning with the writings and mythologies of the ancient Greeks and extending through the ages to the present through the writings of philosophers, playwrights, novelists, and historians. We explore the concept of desire as both a tolerated and celebrated construct over the ages, discussing Western sociocultural perspectives regarding its nature and condition. In our view, such an historical perspective both provides a foundation for the scientific investigation of sexual desire and sheds light on issues currently being discussed with respect to sexual desire, as delineated in Part 2

Mental and Medical Sciences Today

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences is designed as a free online, open access, interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal. The JMMS mission is to address ideas and issues related to mind and medicine, publishing scientific review and empirical papers regarding mental and medical health and disease. Our goal is to stimulate constructive debates among scholars, researchers, physicians, scientists and health professionals with respect to the latest discoveries and trends in the field. The journal pays special attention to interdisciplinary and integrative perspectives, focusing primarily on papers approaching mind and body as a unitary domain of study. Our supposition is that the study of the human body and mind needs to be better integrated—in fact should not be studied in isolation from one another, a position that originates fact from the collaborative efforts of the two main editors, namely a psychologist and a physician

The mind body problem, part three: ascension of sexual function to cerebral level

Physiologically, the somatic nervous system intervenes in external interaction between the body and environment, while autonomic nervous system ensures the functioning of internal organs. We present in this paper a psycho-physiological perspective suggesting that mental function (somatic in nature, because coordinates environmental interaction) is closer to and more aligned with the physiologic functioning of autonomic nervous system (due to autonomy, duality, etc.). At opposite end, sexual function (autonomic in nature, erection for example being a parasympathetic vasodilatory reflex) seems to be compatible and even dependent by a somatic participation (erectile response is rather induced by environmental stimuli than internal visceral stimuli). The perspective presented here is that the mind and sexuality are two distinct relational processes which, being related to the same environmental stimuli/ peripheral afferents, should be supported by a common (somatic-autonomic) neurobiological substrate

The mind-body problem; three equations and one solution represented by immaterial-material data

Human life occurs within a complex bio-psycho-social milieu, a heterogeneous system that is integrated by multiple bidirectional interrelations existing between the abstract-intangible ideas and physical-chemical support of environment. The mind is thus placed between the abstract ideas/ concepts and neurobiological brain that is further connected to environment. In other words, the mind acts as an interface between the immaterial (abstract/ intangible) data and material (biological) support. The science is unable to conceives and explains an interaction between the immaterial and material domains (to understand nature of the mind), this question generating in literature the mind-body problem. We have published in the past a succession of articles related to the mind-body problem, in order to demonstrate the fact that this question is actually a false issue. The phenomenon of immaterial-material interaction is impossible to be explained because it never occurs, which means that there is no need to explain the immaterial-material interaction. Our mind implies only a temporal association between the immaterial data and material support, this dynamic interrelation being presented and argued here as a solution to the mind-body problem. The limited psycho-biologic approach of the mind-body problem is expanded here to a more comprehensive and feasible bio-psycho-social perspective, generating thus three distinct (bio- psychological, bio-social, and psycho-social) equations. These three equations can be solved through a solution represented by a dynamic cerebral system (two distinct and interconnected subunits of the brain) which presumably could have the capability of receiving and processing abstract data through association (with no interaction) between immaterial and material data

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences: translational and integrative mission

Initiated four years ago, Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences (J Mind Med Sci.) established the mission to publish papers on mental and medical topics in distinct but closely interrelated domains. The editorial policy especially encourages interdisciplinary and integrative perspectives, being equally focused on basic research and clinical investigations and short reports. The journal adheres to the philosophy that high quality, original ideas and information should be readily accessible and freely shared within and amongst the scientific community. Accordingly, J Mind Med Sci. is an online, open access, non-for-profit journal which, because of individual/ private support, has levied no charges for submission, review, and publication of articles. All published articles may be freely downloaded and used by anyone from anywhere for scientific purposes. Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences is published by ValpoScholar/ Valparaiso University using the leading institutional repository platform of Digital Commons (powered by Bepress and under the local management of Jon Bull, Library Services, Valparaiso University), which combines submission management, editorial, and peer-review tools into a unique and flexible publishing software system. These editorial and publishing norms have facilitated the journal’s evolution, now indexed and abstracted in several international respected databases. Journal visibility is wide among international academic institutions and readers, as documented by the number of downloaded articles cited in respected journals, some indexed by Thomson Reuters and having high impact factors. In addition, published authors in J Mind Med Sci. periodically receive a statistical report about views / downloads of their articles. It is a pleasure and honor to thank all those who have thus far supported the journal activity (authors, reviewers, editorial board and assistance, publishing support), and to further invite and encourage scientists to contribute to the general progress of knowledge, and in particular to the development of mental and medical disciplines, using our academic platform, available at http://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms/

Psycho-physiologic emergentism; four minds in a body

The mind-body problem represents one of the most debated topics in the neurosciences. From a psychological standpoint, abstract/non-material data are an intrinsic part of the mind, intervening to a large extent in reasoning and decision making processes. Imaging studies also show a strong correlation between higher cognitive functions (such as working memory) and specific cerebral brain regions (a fronto-parietal network of interacting left and right brain areas). In contrast, the physical/material brain would be unable to interact with abstract-immaterial data, such that the psychological processing of abstract data (processes such as thinking, reasoning, and judgment) is attributed to the mind, with the mind representing a distinct entity interposed between the brain and abstract-immaterial data. Recent data suggest that the mind-body problem may simply be an artifact of human experience/ understanding, as the brain actually represents actually an intrinsic part of the mind. Even if the physical brain is not able to interact with abstract mental data, the brain still could process abstract data through a dynamic association between the abstract data and cerebral stimuli/ impulses. This form of processing without interaction defines the mind as a complex neurobiological structure, with the unconscious part of the mind processing abstract-immaterial data in a conscious/ mental format. In this overview, important concepts of psycho-physiologic emergentism, including internal mental reality, internal mental existence, internal mental interaction, and structural and informational dichotomies of the brain, are iterated. Such concepts/properties represent a neuro-informational support system capable of generating four distinct minds within the single brain. Future studies should further develop the dynamic and immaterial-material nature of the mind, as a possible premise for a scientific definition and understanding of mental events like affectivity, emotions, soul, etc

Solving the Mind-Body Problem through Two Distinct Concepts: Internal-Mental Existence and Internal Mental Reality

In a previous published paper, we initiated in this journal discussion about new perspectives regarding the organization and functioning of the mind, as a premise for addressing the mind-body problem. In this article, we continue focussing discussion on two distinct but interrelated concepts, internal-mental existence/ entity and internal-mental reality. These two psycho-physiological subunits of the mind interact each other in the form of an internal-mental interaction, having no sense if one is isolated/ studied separately from the other. In other words, the mind (as a dynamic psycho-physiological construction) has no sense in the absence of this internal mental interaction that which takes places between internal-mental existence and internal-mental reality. In the case of the `mind-body problem`, the tendency until now was to assign extremely complex functions of the mind (abstract ideas, consciousness, colors) to simplistic physiological/ neuronal structures. We hope that this paper opens a new perspective, in respect to complex/ interrelated neuronal structures that construct the mind through their interaction, a process that is both physiologically (transmission of neural impulses) and psychologically (transmission of information), and that requires time (an immaterial component) to occurs

Evaluation of Delayed Ejaculation

“The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine utilizes the biopsychosocial approach to inform physicians, practitioners, residents, trainees, and students about the latest science has to offer today for the evaluation and treatment of sexual dysfunctions especially the utilization of the full armamentarium of assessment methods and treatment interventions in order to restore of sexual health and enhance quality of life.

Evaluation of Delayed Ejaculation

“The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine utilizes the biopsychosocial approach to inform physicians, practitioners, residents, trainees, and students about the latest science has to offer today for the evaluation and treatment of sexual dysfunctions especially the utilization of the full armamentarium of assessment methods and treatment interventions in order to restore of sexual health and enhance quality of life.

Sex Differences in Attributions to Positive and Negative Sexual Scenarios in Men and Women With and Without Sexual Problems: Reconsidering Stereotypes

People with sexual problems are more likely to attribute negative sexual experiences to themselves, in contrast to sexually functional individuals who attribute negative sexual experiences to external factors such as the circumstance or partner. We investigated attribution patterns in 820 men and 753 women, some of whom reported an orgasmic problem, to assess differences between the sexes and those with and without an orgasmic difficulty. Specifically, using an Internet-based approach, we compared attribution responses to four sexual scenarios, one representing a positive sexual experience and three representing negative sexual experiences. Women were more likely to attribute positive outcomes to their partner than men. Women were also more likely to attribute negative outcomes to themselves than men, but they more readily blamed their partner and circumstances for negative outcomes than men as well. Those with orgasmic problems were less willing to take credit for positive outcomes and more willing to accept blame for negative outcomes. Interaction effects between sex and orgasmic problems further highlighted differences between men’s and women’s attribution patterns. These results are interpreted in the context of traditional notions that men’s attributions tend to be more self-serving and women’s attributions more self-derogatory