The Role of Attention in Sexual Arousal: Implications for Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction

References

• Abrahamson , D. J. , Barlow , D. H. , & Abrahamson , L. S. ( 1989 ). Differential effects of performance demand and distraction on sexually functional and dysfunctional males . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 98 , 241 – 247 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Adams , A. E. , Haynes , S. N. , & Brayer , M. A. ( 1985 ). Cognitive distraction in female sexual arousal . Psychophysiology , 22 , 689 – 696 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Baer , R. A. ( 2003 ). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review . Clinical psychology: Science and Practice , 10 , 125 – 143 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bancroft , J. ( 2003 ). Sexual arousal . In L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cognitive science (pp. 1165 – 1168 ). New York : Nature Publication Group .
   Google Scholar
• Barlow , D. H. (1986). Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 54, 140–148.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Basson , R. ( 2001 ). Human sex-response cycles . Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy , 27 , 33 – 43 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Basson , R. ( 2002 ). A model of women's sexual arousal . Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy , 28 , 1 – 10 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Basson , R. , Leiblum , S. , Brotto , L. , Derogatis , L. , Fourcroy , J. , et al. . ( 2004 ). Revised definitions of women's sexual dysfunction . Journal of Sexual Medicine , 1 , 40 – 48 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Beatty , W. W. , Dodge , A. M. , Dodge , L. J. , White , K. , & Panksepp , J. ( 1982 ). Psychomotor stimulation, social deprivation and play in juvenile rats . Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior , 16 , 417 – 422 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Beck , J. G. , & Baldwin , L. E. ( 1994 ). Instructional control of female sexual responding . Archives of Sexual Behavior , 23 , 665 – 684 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Beck , J. G. , Barlow , D. H. , Sakheim , D. K. , & Abrahamson , D. J. ( 1984, November ). Sexual responding during anxiety: Clinical versus non-clinical patterns . Paper presented at the 18th annual convention of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia .
   Google Scholar
• Betcher , W. ( 1987 ). Intimate play . New York : Viking .
   Google Scholar
• Bitran , D. , & Hull , E. M. ( 1987 ). Pharmacological analysis of male rat sexual behavior . Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Review , 11 , 365 – 389 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brauer , M. , ter Kuile , M. , & Laan , E. ( 2008 ). Effects of appraisal of sexual stimuli on sexual arousal in women with and without superficial dyspareunia . Archives of Sexual behavior . Retrieved October 14, 2008, from doi: 10.1007/s10508-008-9371-8 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brotto , L. A. , Basson , R. , & Gorzalka , B. ( 2004 ). Psychophysiological assessment in premenopausal sexual arousal disorder . Journal of Sexual Medicine , 1 , 266 – 277 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brotto , L. A. , Basson , R. , & Luria , M. ( 2008 ). A mindfulness-based group psychoeducational intervention targeting sexual arousal disorder in women . Journal of Sexual Medicine , 5 , 1646 – 1659 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brotto , L. A. , & Heiman , J. R. ( 2007 ). Mindfulness in sex therapy: Applications for women with sexual difficulties following gynecologic cancer . Sexual and Relationship Therapy , 22 , 3 – 11 .
   Google Scholar
• Brotto , L. A. , Heiman , J. R. , Goff , B. , Greer , B. , Lentz , G. M. , et al. . ( 2008 ). A psychoeducational intervention for sexual dysfunction in women with gynecologic cancer . Archives of Sexual behavior , 37 , 317 – 329 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cahn , B. R. , & Polich , J. ( 2006 ). Meditation states and traits & EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies . Psychological Bulletin , 132 , 180 – 211 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cerny , J. A. ( 1978 ). Biofeedback and the voluntary control of sexual arousal in women . Behavior Therapy , 9 , 847 – 855 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chivers , M. L. , Seto , M. C. , & Blanchard , R. ( 2007 ). Gender and sexual orientation differences in sexual response to the sexual activities versus the gender of actors in sexual films . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 93 , 1108 – 1121 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Compton , R. J. ( 2003 ). The interface between emotion and attention: A review of evidence from psychology and neuroscience . Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews , 2 , 115 – 129 .
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Csíkszentmihályi , M. ( 1990 ). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience . New York : Harper & Row .
   Google Scholar
• Damasio , A. ( 2003 ). Looking for Spinoza: Joy, sorrow, and the feeling brain . Orlando , FL : Harcourt .
   Google Scholar
• Dekker , J. , & Everaerd , W. ( 1988 ). Attentional effects on sexual arousal . Psychophysiology , 25 , 45 – 54 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dekker , J. , & Everaerd , W. ( 1989 ). Psychological determinants of sexual arousal: A review . Behavior Research and Therapy , 27 , 353 – 364 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dekker , J. , Everaerd , W. , & Verhelst , N. ( 1985 ). Attending to stimuli or to images of sexual feelings: Effects on sexual arousal . Behavior Research and Therapy , 23 , 139 – 149 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Demyttenaere , K. , & Jaspers , L. ( 2008 ). Bupropion and SSRI-induced side effects . Journal of Psychopharmacology , 22 , 792 – 804 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Durstewitz , D. , Kelc , M. , & Güntürkün , O. ( 1999 ). A neurocomputational theory of the dopaminergic modulation of working memory functions . Journal of Neuroscience , 7 , 2807 – 2822 .
   Google Scholar
• Elliot , A. N. , & O'Donohue , W. T. ( 1997 ). The effects of anxiety and distraction on sexual arousal in a nonclinical sample of heterosexual women . Archives of Sexual Behavior , 26 , 607 – 624 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Everaerd , W. ( 1988 ). Commentary on sex research: Sex as an emotion . Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality , 2 , 3 – 15 .
   Google Scholar
• Everaerd , W. , Both , S. , & Laan , E. ( 2006 ). The experience of sexual emotions . Annual Review of Sex Research , 17 , 183 – 199 .
   Google Scholar
• Garvey , C. (Ed.). ( 1977 ). Play: The developing child . Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Geer , J. , & Fuhr , R. ( 1976 ). Cognitive factors in sexual arousal: The role of distraction . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 44 , 238 – 243 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gopher , D. , & Iani , C. ( 2003 ). Attention . In L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cognitive science (pp. 220 – 226 ). New York : Nature Publication Group .
   Google Scholar
• Heiman , J. R. , & Rowland , D. L. ( 1983 ). Affective and physiological sexual patterns: The effects of instructions on sexually functional and dysfunctional men . Journal of Psychosomatic Research , 27 , 105 – 116 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Henkin , W. A. ( 2007 ). Some beneficial aspects of exploring personas and role play in the BDSM context . In D. Langdridge & M. Barker (Eds.), Safe, sane and consensual: Contemporary perspectives on sadomasochism (pp. 229 – 240 ). New York : Palgrave/Macmillan .
   Google Scholar
• James , W. ( 1890 ). The principles of psychology ( Vol. 1 ). New York : Holt .
   Google Scholar
• Janssen , E. , Everaerd , W. , Spiering , M. , & Janssen , J. ( 2000 ). Automatic processes and the appraisal of sexual stimuli: Toward an information-processing model of sexual arousal . Journal of Sex Research , 37 , 8 – 23 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Janssen , E. , McBride , K. R. , Yarber , W. , Hill , B. J. , & Butler , S. M. ( 2008 ). Factors that influence sexual arousal in men: A focus group study . Archives of Sexual behavior , 37 , 252 – 265 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jiang , Y. , & Chun , M. M. ( 2003 ). Contexual cueing: Reciprocal influences between attention and implicit learning . In L. Jiménez (Ed.), Attention and implicit learning (pp. 277 – 296 ). Amsterdam : Benjamins .
   Google Scholar
• Kabat-Zinn , J. ( 2003 ). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future . Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice , 10 , 144 – 156 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kleinplatz , P. J. , & Ménard , A. D. ( 2007 ). Building blocks toward optimal sexuality: Constructing a conceptual model . The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families , 15 , 72 – 78 .
   Google Scholar
• Korff , J. , & Geer , J. H. ( 1983 ). The relationship between sexual arousal experience and genital response . The Society for Psychophysiological Research , 20 , 121 – 127 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Koukounas , E. , & Over , R. ( 1999 ). Allocation of attentional resources during habituation and dishabituation of male sexual arousal . Archives of Sexual behavior , 28 , 539 – 552 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Koukounas , E. , & Over , R. ( 2001 ). Habituation of male sexual arousal: Effects of attentional focus . Biological Psychology , 58 , 49 – 64 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kuffel , S. W. , & Heiman , J. R. ( 2006 ). Effects of depressive symptoms and experimentally adopted schemas on sexual arousal and affect in sexually healthy women . Archives of Sexual Behavior , 35 , 163 – 177 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Laan , E. , & Everaerd , W. ( 1995 ). Determinants of female sexual arousal: Psychophysiological theory and data . Annual Review of Sex Research , 6 , 32 – 76 .
   Google Scholar
• Laan , E. , Everaerd , W. , Van Aanhold , M. , & Rebel , M. ( 1993 ). Performance demand and sexual arousal in women . Behavior Research Therapy , 31 , 25 – 35 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Laan , E. , & Janssen , E. ( 2007 ). How do men and women feel? Determinants of subjective experience of sexual arousal . In E. Janssen (Ed.), Psychophysiology of sex (pp. 278 – 290 ). Bloomington : Indiana University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Langdridge , D. , & Barker , M. (Eds.). ( 2007 ). Safe, sane and consensual: Contemporary perspectives on sadomasochism . New York : Palgrave/Macmillan .
   Google Scholar
• Laws , D. R. , & Rubin , H. B. (1969). Instructional control of an autonomic sexual response. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis , 2, 93–99.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• LeDoux , J. ( 1993 ). Cognition versus emotion, again—This time in the brain: A response to Parott and Schulkin . Cognition and Emotion , 7 , 61 – 64 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marr , A. J. ( 2001 ). In the zone: A biobehavioral theory of the flow experience . Athletic Insight: Online Journal of Sport Psychology , 3 ( 1 ). Retrieved August 24, 2008, from www.athleticinsight.com
   Google Scholar
• Masters , W. H. , & Johnson , V. E. ( 1966 ). Human sexual response . New York : Little, Brown .
   Google Scholar
• Melis , M. R. , Succu , S. , Mascia , M. S. , & Argiolas , A. ( 2005 ). PD-168077, a selective dopamine D4 receptor agonist, induces penile erection when injected into the paraventricular nucleus of male rats . Neuroscience Letters , 379 , 59 – 62 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Meston , C. M. ( 2006 ). The effects of state and trait self-focused attention on sexual arousal in sexually functional and dysfunctional women . Behaviour Research and Therapy , 44 , 515 – 532 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Meston , C. M. , & Gorzalka , B. B. ( 1996 ). Differential effects of sympathetic activation of sexual arousal in sexually dysfunctional and functional women . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 105 , 582 – 591 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Middleton , L. S. , Kuffel , S. W. , & Heiman , J. R. ( 2008 ). Effects of experimentally adopted sexual schemas on vaginal response and subjective sexual arousal: A comparison between women with sexual arousal disorder and sexually healthy women . Archives of Sexual behavior , 37 , 950 – 961 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Morin , J. ( 1995 ). The erotic mind . New York : Harper Perennial .
   Google Scholar
• Morris , J. S. , Öhman , A. , & Dolan , R. J. ( 1998 ). Conscious and unconscious emotional learning in the human amygdala . Nature , 393 , 467 – 470 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Normansell , L. , & Panksepp , J. ( 1985 ). Effects of quipazine and methysergide on play in juvenile rats . Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior , 22 , 885 – 887 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Panksepp , J. ( 1993 ). Rough-and-tumble play: A fundamental brain process . In K. MacDonald (Ed.), Parent–child play: Descriptions and implications (pp. 147 – 184 ). New York : State University of New York Press .
   Google Scholar
• Panksepp , J. ( 1998 ). Affective neuroscience . New York : Oxford University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Payne , K. A. , Binik , Y. M. , Amsel , R. , & Khalifé , S. ( 2005 ). When sex hurts, anxiety and fear orient attention towards pain . European Journal of Pain , 9 , 427 – 436 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Posner , M. I. ( 1994 ). Attention: The mechanisms of consciousness . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 91 , 7398 – 7403 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rellini , A. H. , McCall , K. M. , Randall , P. K. , & Meston , C. M. ( 2005 ). The relationship between women's subjective and physiological sexual arousal . Psychophysiology , 42 , 116 – 124 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schechner , R. ( 1988 ). Performance theory . New York : Routledge .
   Google Scholar
• Schultz , W. ( 1998 ). Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons . Journal of Neurophysiology , 80 , 1 – 27 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Spiering , M. , & Everaerd , W. ( 2007 ). The sexual unconscious . In E. Janssen (Ed.), Psychophysiology of sex (pp. 166 – 184 ). Bloomington : Indiana University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Spiering , M. , Everaerd , W. , Karsdorp , P. , Both , S. , & Brauer , M. ( 2006 ). Nonconscious processing of sexual information: A generalization to women . Journal of Sex Research , 43 , 268 – 281 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• van Lankveld , J. J. D. M. , & van den Hout , M. A. ( 2004 ). Increasing neutral distraction inhibits genital but not subjective sexual arousal of sexually functional and dysfunctional men . Archives of Sexual Behavior , 33 , 549 – 558 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wiegel , M. , Scepkowski , L. A. , & Barlow , D. H. ( 2007 ). Cognitive-affective processes in sexual arousal and sexual dysfunction . In E. Janssen (Ed.), Psychophysiology of sex (pp. 143 – 166 ). Bloomington : Indiana University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Zion , I. Z. B. , Tessler , R. , Cohen , L. , Lerer , E. , Raz , Y. , et al. . ( 2006 ). Polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) contribute to individual differences in human sexual behavior: Desire, arousal and sexual function . Molecular Psychiatry , 11 , 782 – 786 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar