Sensory Communication

Contains table of contents for Section 2 and reports on five research projects.National Institutes of Health Contract 2 R01 DC00117National Institutes of Health Contract 1 R01 DC02032National Institutes of Health Contract 2 P01 DC00361National Institutes of Health Contract N01 DC22402National Institutes of Health Grant R01-DC001001National Institutes of Health Grant R01-DC00270National Institutes of Health Grant 5 R01 DC00126National Institutes of Health Grant R29-DC00625U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-88-K-0604U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-91-J-1454U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-92-J-1814U.S. Navy - Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division Contract N61339-94-C-0087U.S. Navy - Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division Contract N61339-93-C-0055U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-93-1-1198National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Ames Research Center Grant NCC 2-77

Sensory Communication

Contains table of contents for Section 2, an introduction and reports on fifteen research projects.National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DC00117National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DC02032National Institutes of Health Contract P01-DC00361National Institutes of Health Contract N01-DC22402National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant 2 R01 DC00126National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00270National Institutes of Health Contract N01 DC-5-2107National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00100U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Contract N61339-94-C-0087U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Contract N61339-95-K-0014U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Grant N00014-93-1-1399U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Grant N00014-94-1-1079U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Subcontract 40167U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-92-J-1814National Institutes of Health Grant R01-NS33778U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-88-K-0604National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NCC 2-771U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-94-1-0236U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Agreement with Brandeis Universit

The Successful Measurement of Clitoral Pulse Amplitude Using a New Clitoral Photoplethysmograph: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Although the clitoris is more sensitive to stimulation and its innervation more conducive to sensory feedback than the vagina, the field of sexual psychophysiology, which uses psychophysiological methods including genital response measures to study sexual arousal, relies heavily on the measurement of vaginal, rather than clitoral, pulse amplitude. AIM: To develop and test a new clitoral photoplethysmograph for the measurement of clitoral pulse amplitude (CPA). METHODS: 2 versions of the new device, which differed in the orientation of the sensor and light source (parallel vs angled), were tested in 15 premenopausal, sexually functional women. Vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) was assessed simultaneously. The women viewed a 3-minute erotic and an anxiety-inducing film segment with each clitoral sensor, interspersed with neutral video excerpts. In addition, they were asked to indicate their subjective level of sexual arousal during and after erotic video presentations. OUTCOMES: The main outcome measures are CPA, VPA, and subjective sexual arousal. RESULTS: The clitoral photoplethysmograph successfully detected CPA. The quality of the signals was best for the angled sensor. Main effects of the film and the interaction between the film and epoch were stronger for the clitoral than for the vaginal device. In addition, CPA followed more closely changes in intensity of sexual films than VPA. Within- and between-subject correlations between genital response and subjective sexual arousal were higher for the clitoral than for the vaginal device. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: Comparison of CPA with other genital blood flow measures in clinical samples is indicated and may contribute to improved physiological assessments of sexual response in women. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: Our sample was small and consisted of healthy volunteers. Future research could examine test-retest reliability, by including multiple recording sessions, and further explore the specificity of CPA by comparing sexual and non-sexual stimuli with positive valence. CONCLUSION: This study presents the first instrument to successfully measure CPA. Mechelmans DJ, Sachtler WL, von Wiegand TE, et al. The Successful Measurement of Clitoral Pulse Amplitude Using a New Clitoral Photoplethysmograph: A Pilot Study. J Sex Med 2020;17:1118-1125.status: publishe

The successful measurement of clitoral pulse amplitude using a new clitoral plethysmograph

Background: Although the clitoris is more sensitive to stimulation than the vagina, and its innervation more conducive to sensory feedback, the field of sexual psychophysiology relies heavily on the measurement of vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA). This is most likely due to the availability of an instrument, the vaginal photoplethysmograph, that is easy to place and that allows for relatively stable measurement. Recently, two studies (Gerritsen et al., 2009; Suschinsky et al., 2015) have used clitoral photoplethysmography to assess blood flow in the clitoris. However, only clitoral blood volume (CBV), thought to represent general clitoral vasocongestion, was reported rather than clitoral pulse amplitude (CPA). In the current study, we developed and tested a new clitoral photoplethysmograph for the measurement of CPA. Methods: After several design iterations, we selected two different versions of the new device, which differed in their orientation of the sensor and light source (i.e. parallel and angled). We tested the two newly developed clitoral sensors in 15 premenopausal, sexually functional women (mean age = 26.6, SD = 4.7). Vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) was assessed simultaneously using a standard vaginal photoplethysmograph. Women wore elastic spandex shorts to enable stable placement of the instruments. The women viewed a three-minute erotic and an anxiety-inducing film segment with each clitoral sensor, and were presented with neutral video excerpts prior to the first and after each subsequent video. In addition, they were asked to use a lever to indicate their subjective level of sexual arousal during the erotic video presentations. Results: Due to technical problems, the data of three women could not be used. For the remaining participants we obtained satisfactory signals, especially when using the non-parallel clitoral device, which detected clear pulse waves in all women. Less than 2% of the clitoral and vaginal device data were impacted by artifacts. Main effects of Film and the interaction between Film and Epoch were stronger, in terms of effect size, for the clitoral than for the vaginal device. Furthermore, CPA followed more closely the changes in intensity of the sexual films than VPA: The clitoral pulse signal grew more steadily throughout the three-minute erotic video sequence, showing a substantial increase during the third minute, when vaginal intercourse was depicted. The vaginal pulse wave, on the other hand, showed the fastest and strongest increase during early parts of the erotic video (depicting petting and oral sex). Both within- and between-subject correlations between genital response and subjective sexual arousal were higher for the clitoral than for the vaginal device. Key Words: clitoral pulse amplitude, clitoral photoplethysmography, sexual arousal, vaginal pulse amplitudestatus: accepte