Modification of dysfunctional patterns of sexual response through autonomic arousal and false physiological feedback

Abstract

Effects of autonomic arousal and positive-false vaginal blood volume (VBV) feedback were examined to identify how cognitive and physiological mechanisms mediate sexual arousal, and can be modified to reverse dysfunctional processes. Sixty-four matched sexually dysfunctional women were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: autonomic arousal-evoking or neutral-control preexposure film stimulus paired with an erotic stimulus, and positive-false VBV feedback or no feedback. Results revealed the following: (a) general autonomic arousal enhanced genital arousal; false feedback increased (b) expectations of sexual arousal, (c) actual vasocongestive response, and (d) the subsequent experience of sexual arousal; (e) heightened expectations with false feedback were followed by an increase in actual genital response within 30 s, and (f) the combined effects of autonomic arousal and false feedback enhanced expectations and subsequent genital arousal to levels comparable with those of sexually functional women (E.M. Palace & B.B. Gorzalka, 1990) within 3 min.