Understanding and diagnosing sexual dysfunction: recent progress through psychophysiological and psychophysical...

The psychophysiological method has been applied to the study of human sexual response for well over three decades. The value of this method in providing an objective, integrated approach to the understanding of sexual response, and more specifically sexual dysfunction, is presented. Selected results from recent studies using this methodology illustrate the complex relationships that emerge among cognitive, affective, and physiological components of the sexual response. In addition, data from a systematic study of the use of psychophysiological procedures as an aid in differential diagnosis are given as evidence that this methodology offers a further strategy for assessing problems such as erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Finally, recent findings utilizing sensory psychophysical procedures which relate subjective penile thresholds to sexual response and dysfunction are reviewed. Such procedures also study the interaction of physical/physiological systems with psychological events, and as such may be considered relevant to understanding the relationship between psychological aspects of sexual response.