Sexual behavior after head injury in Indian men and women

Disorders in sexual function constitute one of the most prevalent and least discussed problems following head injury. The disorders are often the outcome of an interaction between the neurological sequelae, the psychological makeup of the individual, and the sociocultural context of the couple. In a study of 34 head-injured patients, only 13 reached their premorbid level of sexual functioning over a period of 1 year. Deviant behavior, total loss of sexual function, and sexual dysfunction were noted in the rest. Deviant behavior was consistently associated with frontal lobe damage. Otherwise, neurological indices of head injury in the dysfunctional group were not different from those of the clinically recovered group. Associated psychiatric disturbances, gender-role differences, the impact on the marital harmony of the couple, and the role of sociocultural beliefs in the etiology of the disorders are analyzed and discussed, with a particular emphasis on Indian culture.