Physiological parameters associated with the performance of a distracting task and genital self-stimulation in women with complete spinal cord injuries

Abstract

Objective: To compare the physiological sexual responses of women with complete spinal cord injuries (SCI) with those of able-bodied women. Design: Controlled laboratory-based analysis of responses to a distracting task coupled with manual genital stimulation versus masturbation. Setting: The sexual physiology laboratory at our free-standing rehabilitation hospital. Participants: A volunteer sample of 10 women with complete SCI along with 10 able-bodied women, matched for age and education status. Interventions: A 78-minute protocol using 6-minute base-lines alternating with 12-minute testing conditions. Dependent variables: Vaginal pulse amplitude, subjective arousal, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. Results: Subjective sexual arousal increased in able-bodied women with manual genital stimulation in conjunction with performance of a distracting task and was further augmented by removal of the distracting task and continuing with masturbation. In contrast, complete SCI subjects did not demonstrate increased subjective arousal with performance of the distracting task in conjunction with manual genital stimulation; however, they did evidence significant increases in arousal when the distracting task was eliminated. Conclusions: Genital responses tended to parallel subjective responses in able-bodied women; however, women with SCI revealed nonsignificant changes in genital responses throughout the treatment protocol. It is hypothesized that the genital and subjective responses of able-bodied subjects reflect the additive components of reflex and then psychogenic sexual arousal. Furthermore, the lack of responsivity in the SCI subjects was thought to be related to compromised upper extremity function in the majority of our subjects. Further work is necessary to validate these hypotheses.