One Session of Autogenic Training Increases Acute Subjective Sexual Arousal in Pre-Menopausal Women With Sexual Arousal Problems

Abstract

Below average heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with sexual arousal dysfunction and overall sexual dysfunction in women. Autogenic training, a psychophysiological relaxation technique, has been shown to increase HRV. In a recent study, sexually healthy women experienced acute increases in both physiological and subjective sexual arousal after one brief session of autogenic training (Stanton & Meston, in press). The present study builds on these findings by testing the effects of a single session of autogenic training on sexual arousal in a sample of women with Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD). The final sample included 25 women, aged 20 to 44, with an average age of 31.16 (SD = 6.71). Vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA), an index of genital sexual arousal, and subjective sexual arousal were assessed before and after listening to a 22-minute autogenic training recording. Heart rate variability was assessed with electrocardiography. Data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling and paired samples t-tests.