Disorders in sexual desire and sexual arousal in women, a 2010 state of the art

Abstract

In this contribution, female sexual desire and arousal disorders are viewed from the perspective of incentive motivation and information processing models of sexual response. The effects of hormones, somatic disease, and medication on sexual arousability are discussed, as well as the influence of psychological factors, such as stimulus meaning, mood and cognition, and relational context on female sexual desire and arousal. Specific topics to attend to during the anamnesis of sexual desire and arousal problems, and empirically evaluated psychological and pharmacological treatments for these problems are discussed.

Keywords:

• Sexual desire
• sexual arousal
• sexual response models
• oestrogens
• androgens
• psychological factors
• relational context
• treatment options

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.