Concurrent Measurement of Genital Lubrication and Blood Flow during Sexual Arousal
Loading...
Authors
Bouchard, Katrina N.
Dawson, Samantha J.
Shelley, Amanda J.
Pukall, Caroline F.
Date
2019-07-01
Type
journal article
Language
Keyword
Genital response , Laser Doppler imaging , Lubrication , Sexual psychophysiology
Alternative Title
Abstract
Genital lubrication and blood flow are theoretically related outcomes of women’s sexual response that prepare the genitals for sexual activity. Despite its importance for sexual function, few experimental studies have directly assessed genital lubrication or empirically demonstrated how genital lubrication and blood flow relate during sexual arousal. In this study, 36 women viewed stimuli that varied by sexual activity intensity (nonsexual, low-intensity sexual, and high-intensity sexual) while their genital responses were assessed using concurrent measures of genital lubrication (using litmus test strips) and genital blood flow (using laser Doppler imaging). Both measures detected a genital response to high-intensity sexual stimuli relative to nonsexual; however, only the laser Doppler imager was sensitive to varying degrees of genital response elicited by stimuli of different sexual activity intensities. The two measures of genital response were suitable for repeated measurement within a single session. Genital lubrication and blood flow were positively correlated for the high-intensity sexual stimuli. Implications for the assessment of women’s genital response and understanding women’s sexual arousal are discussed.
Description
The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.05.003 ©2019. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Citation
Bouchard, K. N., Dawson, S. J., Shelley, A. J., & Pukall, C. F. (2019). Concurrent measurement of genital lubrication and blood flow during sexual arousal. Biological Psychology, 145, 159–166. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.05.003
Publisher
Elsevier