Brain activation patterns in women with acquired hypoactive sexual desire disorder and women with normal sexual function: a cross-sectional pilot study

Abstract

Objective: To examine and compare brain activation patterns of premenopausal women with normal sexual function and those with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) during viewing of validated sexually explicit film clips.

Design: Cross-sectional pilot study.

Setting: University-based clinical research center.

Patient(s): Premenopausal women.

Intervention(s): None.

Main outcome measure(s): Areas of brain activation during viewing of sexually explicit film clips.

Result(s): Women with normal sexual function showed significantly greater activation of the right thalamus, left insula, left precentral gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus in comparison with women with HSDD, who exhibited greater activation of the right medial frontal gyrus and left precuneus regions.

Conclusion(s): Women with HSDD may have alterations in activation of limbic and cortical structures responsible for acquiring, encoding, and retrieving memory, the processing and memory of emotional reactions, and areas responsible for heightened attention to one's own physical state.

Keywords: Brain activation patterns; female sexual dysfunction; functional neuroimaging; hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD); sexual stimuli.

Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Regions of activation during viewing of sexual videos in the normal group. Cross-hairs reflect local maxima in MNI space (x, y, z coordinates). Left parahippocampal gyrus (top left), right lingual gyrus (top right), bilateral claustrum/insula (bottom left), and left precentral gyrus (bottom right).

FIGURE 2

Regions of activation during viewing of sexual videos in the hypoactive sexual desire disorder group. Cross-hairs reflect local maxima in MNI space (x, y, z coordinates). Bilateral thalamus (top left), left precuneus (top right), bilateral medial frontal gyrus (bottom left), and left amygdala (bottom right, outside of the cross-hairs in coronal view).

FIGURE 3

Regions of activation that were greater in the normal group than the hypoactive sexual desire disorder group during viewing of sexual videos. Cross-hairs reflect local maxima in MNI space (x, y, z coordinates). Left precentral gyrus (top left), left insula (top right), left parahippocampal gyrus (bottom left), and left middle occipital gyrus (bottom right).

FIGURE 4

Regions of activation that were greater in the hypoactive sexual desire disorder group than the normal group during viewing of sexual videos. Cross-hairs reflect local maxima in MNI space (x, y, z coordinates). Left precuneus (left) and right medial frontal gyrus (right).