Abstract
The proneness to be sexually aroused, to perform sexual acts, or to be sexually disinhibited during a particular mood varies across individuals. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying this specific and variable relationship between mood and sex-related processes are poorly understood. We propose that cortisol may act as an important moderator in this as it has shown to influence sexual arousal and to play a neuromodulatory role during emotion regulation. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in a sample of young males to investigate whether cortisol modulates the neural response during the approach of sexual stimuli in an approach-avoidance task and whether this potential relationship explains the individual differences in sexual inhibition and in mood-related sexual interest and activity. We revealed that cortisol associates with the anteromedial prefrontal cortex activation during the approach towards sexual stimuli. Moreover, this anteromedial prefrontal cortex response was dependent on individual differences in sexual inhibition and the improvements of negative mood as a result of sexual activity. The anteromedial prefrontal cortex is already known to process bottom-up information, reward, and risk estimation. The neuromodulatory role of cortisol within this region during sexual approach may represent a previously unknown yet key element in the regulation of sexual behavior in young males.
Highlights
The regulation of sexual desires and behavior is essential to maintain health and social harmony
We revealed that cortisol associates with the anteromedial prefrontal cortex activation during the approach towards sexual stimuli
Dysregulated sexual behavior can be caused by an imbalance between the proneness to be sexually aroused and the capability to inhibit such arousal, the latter of which has an impact on motivational tendencies, reducing the probability of sexual approach behaviors
Summary
The regulation of sexual desires and behavior is essential to maintain health and social harmony. Current evidence reveals conflicting results, pointing to a facilitative, inhibitory, or even no effect of negative mood (e.g., anxiety and stress) on sexual arousal, sexual interest, and sexual activity (Mitchell et al, 1998; Crepaz and Marks, 2001; Koukounas and McCabe, 2001; Nobre et al, 2004; Bradford and Meston, 2006; Bodenmann et al, 2010). This inconsistency may be partly due to individual differences in the proneness to experience sexual arousal when being in a negative mood. Male sex offenders are more likely to respond to stress with sexual fantasies or act, putting them at increased risk of sexual recidivism during certain emotional states (McKibben et al, 1994; Hanson and Harris, 2000; Cortoni and Marshall, 2001)
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