| Summary: |
Findings have shown the important role of psychological factors in sexual dysfunction, particularly dispositional variables such as personality, affect, and sexual inhibition (Barlow, 2002; Bancroft & Janssen, 2000 [1]), sexual beliefs (Baker & de Silva, 1988; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2006a [2]; Nobre et al., 2003 [3]), cognitive schemas (Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2009 ab) [4,5], automatic thoughts (Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2003 [6], 2008a), and emotions (Koukounas & McCabe, 2001; Mitchell et al., 1998 [7]; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2006b [8]; Nobre et al., 2004) [9]. Moreover, some conceptual models of sexual dysfunction (e.g., Barlow, 1986; Nobre, 2009, 2010) [10,11,12] have been developed based on these findings, suggesting the role that dispositional and psychological variables may play as vulnerability factors for sexual problems. Despite this attention, there is a lack of experimental studies that test the main hypotheses derived from these models, with most studies using cross-sectional designs. OBJECTIVES The aim of the research project is to test the predictive power of dispositional and psychological variables in explaining the sexual response to a negative false feedback in sexually healthy men and women. Two studies will be conducted, using an experimental design with false negative feedback (see Bach et al., 1999) [13]. The false negative feedback on sexual arousal will create a condition resembling a possible real-life negative sexual event. Study 1 will be the first experimental study to test the role of psychological and dispositional variables (e.g., personality, trait-affect, sexual beliefs) as moderators of sexual response to false negative feedback. Study 2 will further examine the neuronal correlates of sexual response (using fMRI analysis) under the same experimental design. METHODS PARTICIPANTS: A total of 200 volunteers (ages 18 to 40) will participate in both studies (Study 1: 80 men and 80 women, and study 2: 20 men and 20 women). Exclusion criter  |
Summary
Findings have shown the important role of psychological factors in sexual dysfunction, particularly dispositional variables such as personality, affect, and sexual inhibition (Barlow, 2002; Bancroft & Janssen, 2000 [1]), sexual beliefs (Baker & de Silva, 1988; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2006a [2]; Nobre et al., 2003 [3]), cognitive schemas (Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2009 ab) [4,5], automatic thoughts (Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2003 [6], 2008a), and emotions (Koukounas & McCabe, 2001; Mitchell et al., 1998 [7]; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2006b [8]; Nobre et al., 2004) [9]. Moreover, some conceptual models of sexual dysfunction (e.g., Barlow, 1986; Nobre, 2009, 2010) [10,11,12] have been developed based on these findings, suggesting the role that dispositional and psychological variables may play as vulnerability factors for sexual problems. Despite this attention, there is a lack of experimental studies that test the main hypotheses derived from these models, with most studies using cross-sectional designs. OBJECTIVES The aim of the research project is to test the predictive power of dispositional and psychological variables in explaining the sexual response to a negative false feedback in sexually healthy men and women. Two studies will be conducted, using an experimental design with false negative feedback (see Bach et al., 1999) [13]. The false negative feedback on sexual arousal will create a condition resembling a possible real-life negative sexual event. Study 1 will be the first experimental study to test the role of psychological and dispositional variables (e.g., personality, trait-affect, sexual beliefs) as moderators of sexual response to false negative feedback. Study 2 will further examine the neuronal correlates of sexual response (using fMRI analysis) under the same experimental design. METHODS PARTICIPANTS: A total of 200 volunteers (ages 18 to 40) will participate in both studies (Study 1: 80 men and 80 women, and study 2: 20 men and 20 women). Exclusion criteria: sexual dysfunction, psychopathology, homosexual orientation, medical problems, medication and drugs that affect sexual response. MEASURES: Study 1: measures of genital sexual arousal and eye-tracking. Study 2: measures of genital sexual arousal, imaging-scanning procedures and image analysis (data acquisition and image pre-processing will be conducted under the technical responsibility of IBILI. Self-report measures assessing dispositional factors (NEO PI-R), affect (PANAS), sexual inhibition / excitation (SIS/SES), cognitive schemas (QCSASC), sexual beliefs (SDBQ), and thoughts and emotions (SMQ) will be used in both studies. PROCEDURES: Participants will be recruited through advertisement and will answer to a phone screen interview in order to assess exclusion criteria. Eligible volunteers will be randomly assigned to Study 1 (at Sex Lab) or Study 2 (at IBILI). All participants will complete a questionnaire battery and a sexual dysfunction interview before the experimental session. Participants will be randomly assigned to 2 experimental conditions (neutral and false negative feedback of genital response) and both groups will watch sexually explicit material. During film presentations, neurophysiological correlates of sexual response will be continuously recorded. After each film presentation measures of subjective sexual arousal, thoughts and emotions will be used. Since the study involves giving participants false feedback, a particular attention will be paid to ethical procedures, and the study will be submitted for approval to an independent Ethics Committee. EXPECTED FINDINGS We expect to find a significant effect of false negative feedback on subjective and physiological sexual arousal in both men and women (Study 1 and Study 2), with the proposed vulnerability variables (e.g., sexual beliefs, sexual inhibition, personality, and trait affect) playing a moderator role. In response to the negative false feedback, we also expect to find changes in focus of visual attention compatible with cognitive distraction from erotic stimuli (as measured by eye-tracking in Study 1), and changes in brain activity (as measured by fMRI in Study 2). IMPACT AND REPERCUSSIONS This study will be the first laboratorial research project examining the potential role of psychological risk factors on physiological and subjective sexual response to negative sexual events. Additionally, this laboratorial study will allow investigating neurophysiological correlates of sexual response in men and women including fMRI (an understudied area of research in the filed of sexology). Overall, the study might have repercussions in consolidating knowledge related to neuropsychophysiological processes involved in the etiology and maintenance of sexual dysfunction and its implications for treatment |