Hypersexuality as a Manifestation of Various Disorders

Abstract

The article deals with hypersexuality, which can be a manifestation of a wide variety of disorders. These include: consequences of a psychotrauma; premature psychosexual development; borderline personality disorder; submaniac and maniac states in bipolar affective disorder and schizoaffective type of the course of schizophrenia; disinhibition of libido, rough and naked eroticism in the initial stage of schizophrenia; consequence of advanced emotional volitional disorders in simple-type schizophrenia; temporal lobe epilepsy; dementia; mental retardation (oligophrenias); various organic brain lesions (resulting from neuroinfections, injuries, vascular damages, neoplasms) [the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain are indicated as regulators of libido]; consequence of disorders in the hypothalamic area and limbic system. It is reported that a correlation exists between development of hypersexuality and damages in certain cerebral areas in patients with non-traumatic brain damage. It is pointed out that hypersexuality may result from maldevelopment of the right hippocampus, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, in patients with disseminated sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Kluver-Bucy syndrome as well as be caused by various hormonal disorders and consequences of premenstrual changes and effect of virilizing hormones during the childhood or intrauterine period. Numerous clinical illustrations of cases with hypersexuality, caused by various disorders, are given. The author holds the opinion that it is necessary to divide hypersexuality at least into two categories: true hypersexuality and sexual disinhibition, when with the normal or even reduced level of libido manifestation the hypersexual behaviour results from absence or insufficiency of inhibitory mechanisms (for example, in dementia).