The study of ejaculatory response in men in the psychophysiological laboratory

Abstract

Sexual psychophysiological researchers have had limited success in studying ejaculatory response in the laboratory in men and, more specifically, in identifying factors that differentiate the sexual response of men with premature ejaculation (PE) from controls. A number of methodological limitations may have contributed to the lack of effects in these studies, including lack of stimuli and response measures specific to ejaculatory response. To understand further the sexual response patterns of men with premature ejaculation, penile response, subjective arousal, and subjective and objective measures of pending or actual ejaculation were measured in men with premature ejaculation and controls to two types of stimulation: an erotic video and an erotic video plus penile vibrotactile stimulation. Erectile response differed across stimulus conditions, but not across groups (men with PE versus controls). A number of group, stimulus, and group by stimulus effects were found on subjective measures of arousal, perceived penile response, and ejaculatory response. In fact, 5 of 14 men with PE ejaculated under the combined stimuli, whereas only 1 of 8 controls ejaculated. These findings support the efficacy of using penile tactile stimulation and assessment of objective and subjective correlates in laboratory‐based investigations of ejaculatory response.