Physiological parameters associated with psychogenic sexual arousal in women with complete spinal cord injuries

Abstract

Objective: To compare the physiological sexual responses of women with complete spinal cord injuries (SCIs) with those of able-bodies women.

Design: Controlled laboratory-based analysis of responses to audiovisual erotic and audiovisual erotic combined with manual stimulation.

Setting: The sexual physiology laboratory at our free-standing rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: A volunteer sample of 13 women with complete SCIs above T6 along with eight able-bodies women, matched for age and educational status.

Interventions: A 78-minute protocol using 6-minute baseline alternating with 12-minute testing conditions was conducted.

Dependent variables: Included vaginal pulse amplitude, subjective arousal, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate.

Results: Showed comparable increases in subjective arousal in both groups with audiovisual but not audiovisual combined with manual stimulation. Vaginal pulse amplitude increased in able-bodied subjects but no SCI subjects with isolated audiovisual stimulation; however, with the addition of manual stimulation all subjects responded similarly. Other nongenital correlates of sexual arousal were similar between SCI and able-bodies subjects.

Conclusion: These results provide physiological validation of the hypothesis that women with complete SCI can respond with audiovisual stimulation similarly to able-bodies women in those functions that are controlled neurologically above the level of their injuries, whereas, genital vasocongestion will not occur because the neurological pathway is interrupted. In contrast, reflex genital vasocongestion can occur in women with complete SCI despite a lack of subjective arousal. These findings can be used to educate women with complete SCIs about their sexual responses.