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Lenschow C, Mendes ARP, Lima SQ. Hearing, touching, and multisensory integration during mate choice. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:943888. [PMID: 36247731 PMCID: PMC9559228 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.943888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate choice is a potent generator of diversity and a fundamental pillar for sexual selection and evolution. Mate choice is a multistage affair, where complex sensory information and elaborate actions are used to identify, scrutinize, and evaluate potential mating partners. While widely accepted that communication during mate assessment relies on multimodal cues, most studies investigating the mechanisms controlling this fundamental behavior have restricted their focus to the dominant sensory modality used by the species under examination, such as vision in humans and smell in rodents. However, despite their undeniable importance for the initial recognition, attraction, and approach towards a potential mate, other modalities gain relevance as the interaction progresses, amongst which are touch and audition. In this review, we will: (1) focus on recent findings of how touch and audition can contribute to the evaluation and choice of mating partners, and (2) outline our current knowledge regarding the neuronal circuits processing touch and audition (amongst others) in the context of mate choice and ask (3) how these neural circuits are connected to areas that have been studied in the light of multisensory integration.
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Ramírez-Rodríguez R, León-Sequeda I, Salomón-Lara L, Perusquia-Cabrera D, Herrera-Covarrubias D, Fernández-Cañedo L, García LI, Manzo J, Pfaus JG, López-Meraz ML, Coria-Avila GA. Enhanced D2 Agonism Induces Conditioned Appetitive Sexual Responses Toward Non-reproductive Conspecifics. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2021; 50:3901-3912. [PMID: 34665381 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02023-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Brain mechanisms of sexual attraction toward reproductive partners develop from a systematic interrelationship between biology (nature) and learning (nurture). However, the causes of attraction toward non-reproductive partners are poorly understood. Here, we explored the role of Pavlovian learning under dopaminergic agonism on the development of sexual preference and brain activation for young male rats. During conditioning, adult sexually naïve males received either Saline (Saline-Paired) or the D2-receptor agonist quinpirole (QNP-Paired) and cohabited in contingency, or out of contingency (QNP-Unpaired) during 24 h with an almond-scented prepubertal juvenile male (PD25). Conditioning occurred every 4 days for three trials. Social and sexual responses were assessed four days after the last conditioning trial in a drug-free test, and males chose freely between a scented young male (PD37) and a novel receptive female. Four days later, males were exposed to the conditioned odor only and brain Fos-IR and serum testosterone were analyzed. Saline-Paired and QNP-Unpaired males displayed more non-contact erections (NCEs) and genital investigations for females, whereas QNP-Paired males expressed more NCEs and genital investigations for young males. In the QNP-Paired group, exposure to the young male-paired odor evoked more Fos-IR in limbic, hypothalamic and cortical areas, but no differences in serum testosterone were observed. Cohabitation with juvenile males during enhanced D2 agonism results in atypical appetitive sexual responses and a higher pattern of brain response for the young male-paired odor, with no changes in serum testosterone. We discuss the potential implications for the development of pedophilic disorder and perhaps other paraphilias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Ramírez-Rodríguez
- Maestría en Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
- Doctorado en Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Isabel León-Sequeda
- Doctorado en Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Lázaro Salomón-Lara
- Doctorado en Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | | | - Deissy Herrera-Covarrubias
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | | | - Luis I García
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Jorge Manzo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - James G Pfaus
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - María-Leonor López-Meraz
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Genaro A Coria-Avila
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo S/N Col. Industrial Ánimas, 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
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Trejo-Sánchez I, Pérez-Monter C, Huerta-Pacheco S, Gutiérrez-Ospina G. Male Ejaculatory Endophenotypes: Revealing Internal Inconsistencies of the Concept in Heterosexual Copulating Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:90. [PMID: 32670030 PMCID: PMC7332778 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Distinct manifestations of sexual behavior are conceived as separate phenotypes. Each sexual phenotype is assumed to be associated with a characteristic brain. These notions have justified the phenotyping of heterosexual copulator males based upon their ejaculation's latencies (EL) or frequencies (i.e., cumulative ejaculation number; EN). For instance, men and male rats showing premature, normal or retarded ejaculation are assumed to be distinctive endophenotypes. This concept, nonetheless, contradicts past and recent evidence that supports that sexual behavior is highly variable within each sex, and that the brain sexual functional morphology represents an intricate sexual phenotypic mosaic. Hence, for ejaculatory male endophenotypes to be considered as a valid biological concept, it must show internal consistency at various levels of organization (including genetic architectures), after being challenged by intrinsic and/or extrinsic factors. We then judged the internal consistency of the presumed ejaculatory endophenotypes by assessing whether copulatory behavior and the expression of copulation relevant genes and brain limbic structures are specific to each of the presumed EL- or EN-ejaculatory endophenotypes. To do this, copulating male rats were first phenotyped in groups consistently displaying short, average or long ejaculation latencies or very high, high, average, low or very low EN, based in their copulatory performance. Then, the internal consistency of the presumed EL- or EN-endophenotypes was tested by introducing as covariates of phenotyping other copulatory parameters (e.g., number of intromissions) in addition to EL or EN, or by analyzing the expression levels of genes encoding for estrogen receptor alpha, progesterone receptor, androgen receptor, aromatase, DNA methyl-transferase 3a and DNA methyl-transferase 1 in the amygdala, medial preoptic area, ventromedial hypothalamus and olfactory bulb. We found that even though there were group-level differences in all the variables that were studied, these differences did not add-up to create the presumed EL- or EN-ejaculatory endophenotypes. In fact, the extensive overlapping of copulatory parameters and expression levels of copulation relevant genes in limbic structures across EL- or EN-phenotyped copulating male rats, is not consistent with the hypothesis that distinct ejaculatory endophenotypes exist and that they are associated with specific brain characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itztli Trejo-Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Biología de Sistemas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Carlos Pérez-Monter
- Departamento de Gastroenterología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán”, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Sofía Huerta-Pacheco
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Ciencia Forense, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Gabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina
- Laboratorio de Biología de Sistemas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Coordinación de Psicobiología y Neurociencias, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Kitchenham L, Ervin K, Tigert M, Mason G, Choleris E. Does demonstrator relevance affect social preferences and the social transmission of food preferences in female mice (Mus musculus)? Behav Processes 2019; 169:103983. [PMID: 31622658 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This study examined whether a history of beneficial social learning experiences affects social partner preferences in laboratory mice (Mus musculus) and whether observer mice acquire adaptive model-based social learning strategies through associative learning. We tested whether observers would come to socially prefer demonstrators who provide beneficial information through the social transmission of food preference (STFP), over demonstrators who do not; and whether they would preferentially attend to and learn from such demonstrators. Observers were given repeated exposures to two demonstrators who differed in whether or not they consistently provided beneficial information (which increased observers' ingestion of food via the STFP). After multiple social learning experiences with a "relevant demonstrator" (our CS+) whose demonstrated food was available for consumption (our US) by the observer and a "non-relevant demonstrator" whose demonstrated food was never encountered, neither demonstrator was preferred over the other. Furthermore, observers learned equally well from both relevant and non-relevant demonstrators. The present findings suggest that adaptive model-based social learning strategies are not followed in the STFP, although we recommend further testing of the social preference hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelsy Ervin
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Melissa Tigert
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Georgia Mason
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
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The role of learning in the oviposition behavior of the silkworm moth (Bombyx mori). Behav Processes 2018; 157:286-290. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Hoffmann H. Situating Human Sexual Conditioning. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2017; 46:2213-2229. [PMID: 28698969 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-017-1030-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2016] [Revised: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Conditioning is often thought of as a basic, automatic learning process that has limited applicability to higher-level human behavior. In addition, conditioning is seen as separable from, and even secondary to, "innate" processes. These ideas involve some misconceptions. The aim of this article is to provide a clearer, more refined sense of human sexual conditioning. After providing some background information and reviewing what is known from laboratory conditioning studies, human sexual conditioning is compared to sexual conditioning in nonhumans, to "innate" sexual responding, and to other types of human learning processes. Recommendations for moving forward in human sexual conditioning research are included.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Hoffmann
- Department of Psychology, Knox College, Galesburg, IL, 61401, USA.
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Ramírez-Rodríguez R, Tecamachaltzi-Silvaran MB, Díaz-Estrada VX, Chena-Becerra F, Herrera-Covarrubias D, Paredes-Ramos P, Manzo J, Garcia LI, Coria-Avila GA. Heterosexual experience prevents the development of conditioned same-sex partner preference in male rats. Behav Processes 2017; 136:43-49. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Revised: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Safron A. What is orgasm? A model of sexual trance and climax via rhythmic entrainment. SOCIOAFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE & PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 6:31763. [PMID: 27799079 PMCID: PMC5087698 DOI: 10.3402/snp.v6.31763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Orgasm is one of the most intense pleasures attainable to an organism, yet its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. On the basis of existing literatures, this article introduces a novel mechanistic model of sexual stimulation and orgasm. In doing so, it characterizes the neurophenomenology of sexual trance and climax, describes parallels in dynamics between orgasms and seizures, speculates on possible evolutionary origins of sex differences in orgasmic responding, and proposes avenues for future experimentation. Here, a model is introduced wherein sexual stimulation induces entrainment of coupling mechanical and neuronal oscillatory systems, thus creating synchronized functional networks within which multiple positive feedback processes intersect synergistically to contribute to sexual experience. These processes generate states of deepening sensory absorption and trance, potentially culminating in climax if critical thresholds are surpassed. The centrality of rhythmic stimulation (and its modulation by salience) for surpassing these thresholds suggests ways in which differential orgasmic responding between individuals-or with different partners-may serve as a mechanism for ensuring adaptive mate choice. Because the production of rhythmic stimulation combines honest indicators of fitness with cues relating to potential for investment, differential orgasmic response may serve to influence the probability of continued sexual encounters with specific mates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Safron
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA;
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Triana-Del Rio R, Tecamachaltzi-Silvarán MB, Díaz-Estrada VX, Herrera-Covarrubias D, Corona-Morales AA, Pfaus JG, Coria-Avila GA. Conditioned same-sex partner preference in male rats is facilitated by oxytocin and dopamine: effect on sexually dimorphic brain nuclei. Behav Brain Res 2015; 283:69-77. [PMID: 25601575 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2014] [Revised: 01/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Conditioned same-sex partner preference can develop in male rats that undergo cohabitation under the effects of quinpirole (QNP, D2 agonist). Herein, we assessed the development of conditioned same-sex social/sexual preference in males that received either nothing, saline, QNP, oxytocin (OT), or QNP+OT during cohabitation with another male (+) or single-caged (-). This resulted in the following groups: (1) Intact-, (2) Saline+, (3) QNP-, (4) OT-, (5) QNP+, (6) OT+ and (7) QNP/OT+. Cohabitation occurred during 24h in a clean cage with a male partner that bore almond scent on the back as conditioned stimulus. This was repeated every 4 days for a total of three trials. Social and sexual preference were assessed four days after the last conditioning trial in a drug-free test in which experimental males chose between the scented familiar male and a novel sexually receptive female. Results showed that males from groups Intact-, Saline+, QNP- and OT- displayed a clear preference for the female (opposite-sex), whereas groups QNP+, OT+ and QNP/OT+ displayed socio/sexual preference for the male partner (same-sex). In Experiment 2, the brains were processed for Nissl dye and the area size of two sexually dimorphic nuclei (SDN-POA and SON) was compared between groups. Males from groups OT-, OT+ and QNP/OT+ expressed a smaller SDN-POA and groups QNP+ and QNP/OT+ expressed a larger SON. Accordingly, conditioned same-sex social/sexual partner preference can develop during cohabitation under enhanced D2 or OT activity but such preference does not depend on the area size of those sexually dimorphic nuclei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Triana-Del Rio
- Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - Miriam B Tecamachaltzi-Silvarán
- Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - Victor X Díaz-Estrada
- Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - Deissy Herrera-Covarrubias
- Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - Aleph A Corona-Morales
- Laboratorio de Investigación Genómica y Fisiológica, Facultad de Nutrición, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - James G Pfaus
- CSBN/Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Genaro A Coria-Avila
- Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida Luis Castelazo s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P. 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
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Brom M, Laan E, Everaerd W, Spinhoven P, Both S. Extinction and renewal of conditioned sexual responses. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105955. [PMID: 25170909 PMCID: PMC4149496 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Extinction involves an inhibitory form of new learning that is highly dependent on the context for expression. This is supported by phenomena such as renewal and spontaneous recovery, which may help explain the persistence of appetitive behavior, and related problems such as addictions. Research on these phenomena in the sexual domain is lacking, where it may help to explain the persistence of learned sexual responses. Method Men (n = 40) and women (n = 62) participated in a differential conditioning paradigm, with genital vibrotactile stimulation as US and neutral pictures as conditional stimuli (CSs). Dependent variables were genital and subjective sexual arousal, affect, US expectancy, and approach and avoid tendencies towards the CSs. Extinction and renewal of conditioned sexual responses were studied by context manipulation (AAA vs. ABA condition). Results No renewal effect of genital conditioned responding could be detected, but an obvious recovery of US expectancy following a context change after extinction (ABA) was demonstrated. Additionally, women demonstrated recovery of subjective affect and subjective sexual arousal. Participants in the ABA demonstrated more approach biases towards stimuli. Conclusions The findings support the context dependency of extinction and renewal of conditioned sexual responses in humans. This knowledge may have implications for the treatment of disturbances in sexual appetitive responses such as hypo- and hypersexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirte Brom
- Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Unit, Leiden University, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Ellen Laan
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Walter Everaerd
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Spinhoven
- Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Unit, Leiden University, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
| | - Stephanie Both
- Department of Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Hoffmann H, Goodrich D, Wilson M, Janssen E. The Role of Classical Conditioning in Sexual Compulsivity: A Pilot Study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/10720162.2014.895460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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12
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Neurobiology of social attachments. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 43:173-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2013] [Revised: 04/05/2014] [Accepted: 04/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Brom M, Both S, Laan E, Everaerd W, Spinhoven P. The role of conditioning, learning and dopamine in sexual behavior: a narrative review of animal and human studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 38:38-59. [PMID: 24211372 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2013] [Revised: 10/22/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Many theories of human sexual behavior assume that sexual stimuli obtain arousing properties through associative learning processes. It is widely accepted that classical conditioning contributes to the etiology of both normal and maladaptive human behaviors. Despite the hypothesized importance of basic learning processes in sexual behavior, research on classical conditioning of the sexual response in humans is scarce. In the present paper, animal studies and studies in humans on the role of pavlovian conditioning on sexual responses are reviewed. Animal research shows robust, direct effects of conditioning processes on partner- and place preference. On the contrast, the empirical research with humans in this area is limited and earlier studies within this field are plagued by methodological confounds. Although recent experimental demonstrations of human sexual conditioning are neither numerous nor robust, sexual arousal showed to be conditionable in both men and women. The present paper serves to highlight the major empirical findings and to renew the insight in how stimuli can acquire sexually arousing value. Hereby also related neurobiological processes in reward learning are discussed. Finally, the connections between animal and human research on the conditionability of sexual responses are discussed, and suggestions for future directions in human research are given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirte Brom
- Institute of Psychology, Clinical, Health and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Department of Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Stephanie Both
- Department of Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen Laan
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Walter Everaerd
- Department Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Spinhoven
- Institute of Psychology, Clinical, Health and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands
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Hoffmann H, Safron A. Introductory editorial to 'the neuroscience and evolutionary origins of sexual learning'. SOCIOAFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE & PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 2:17415. [PMID: 24693351 PMCID: PMC3960067 DOI: 10.3402/snp.v2i0.17415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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15
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Hoffmann H, Peterson K, Garner H. Field conditioning of sexual arousal in humans. SOCIOAFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE & PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 2:17336. [PMID: 24693347 PMCID: PMC3960046 DOI: 10.3402/snp.v2i0.17336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human sexual classical conditioning effects are less robust compared with those obtained in other animals. The artificiality of the laboratory environment and/or the unconditioned stimulus (US) used (e.g. watching erotic film clips as opposed to participating in sexual activity) may contribute to this discrepancy. The present experiment used a field study design to explore the conditioning of human sexual arousal. METHOD Seven heterosexual couples were instructed to include a novel, neutrally preferred scent as the conditioned stimulus (CS + ) during sexual interaction and another novel scent during non-sexual coupled-interaction (e.g. watching a movie, studying together). Seven control couples used both scents during non-sexual interaction. Conducted over a 2-week period, both experimental and control couples had three sexual interactions (oral sex and/or intercourse). In addition, experimental couples had three, while the controls had six, non-sexual interactions. Genital responding to and affective preference for the odors were assessed in the laboratory before and after the experience in the men. RESULTS We observed significantly increased genital responding to the CS+ in the experimental relative to the control group; however, conditioned responses were not much stronger than those obtained during laboratory conditioning. Experimental males also showed a trend for decreased preference for the CS- odor. They may have learned that this odor predicted that sexual interaction with their partner would not occur. CONCLUSION The present study provides another demonstration of conditioned sexual arousal in men, specifically an instance of such learning that happened in a real-world setting. It also suggests that inhibitory learning may occur, at least with the affective measure.
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