Diffusion tensor imaging: A new valuable method for understanding male sexual functioning
Abstract
Available information regarding brain pathways involved in male sexual response is mainly derived from animal models and human neuroimaging studies.1,2 Erection and ejaculation can be considered spinal reflexes supported by the integration of spinal centers of incoming genital sensory signals. However, sexual behavior and sexual pleasure require central integration of several pieces of information, many of which are not derived from the genital area.2 Evidence from animals shows that sexual excitatory neurochemical mechanisms include mesolimbic and incertohypothalamic dopamine (DA) pathways for sexual incentive motivation, oxytocin, and melanocortin neurons within the hypothalamus and the limbic system to activate sexual attraction, and ascending noradrenaline circuits from hypothalamic, limbic, and cortical regions to increase augment sexual arousal.2 Data obtained in humans are essentially derived from functional neuroimaging which can detect local neural activity by measuring blood flow, volume, and oxygenation changes while normal adults perform tasks.2,3 131PET and functional MRI (fMRI) are the most frequently used techniques. Based on these instruments, it has been reported that brain dimorphic responses to visual sexual stimulation induce the activation of the ventral striatum (including the nucleus accumbens), the amygdala, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In addition, similar to what observed in rat models, DA pathways seem to…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Learning from First-Generation Qualitative Approaches in the IS Discipline: An Evolutionary View and Some Implications for Authors and Evaluators (PART 1/2)
- Commentary on the clinical and preclinical dosage limits of interstitially administered magnetic fluids for therapeutic hyperthermia based on current practice and efficacy models
- Prosthesis: New Technological Opportunities and Innovative Biomedical Devices
- The history and future of neural modeling for cochlear implants
- Ryanodine receptors: waking up from refractoriness
- Novel Transgenic Rabbit Model Sheds Light on the Puzzling Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase-12 in Atherosclerosis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.