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The authors review physical and psychosocial development in adolescents with chronic medical illness and the available data with regard to their sexual behavior. The relationship of various chronic diseases and their therapies to health-related outcomes of sexual behavior and the management of sexuality in adolescents with chronic illness are discussed.
The present study examines sociodemographic characteristics, levels of psychological distress, and coping styles among HIV-seropositive (HIV+) gay men who either did or did not engage in sexual activity which placed others at risk for HIV infection. Risky sexual behavior was defined as engaging in insertive anal intercourse. Respondents were 156 HIV+ men enrolled at the Pittsburgh site of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study in 1989-90. HIV+ men who engaged in risky sexual behavior, while similar to remaining HIV+ men on most sociodemographic characteristics, showed lower levels of psychological distress and somewhat higher feelings of control over their lives. Risky men were less likely to employ active, behavioral strategies for day-to-day coping with the issues of HIV infection and AIDS, and were more likely to report using recreational drugs to reduce tension associated with thoughts about HIV. This profile of psychosocial characteristics associated with risky sexual activity may lead to further refinement of educational and other intervention strategies with HIV+ men. Implications for such strategies are discussed.
The effect of oxytocin on male sexual behavior was investigated in sexually normal or sexually sluggish 20-month-old rats. Rats were tested seven times, at weekly intervals, for copulatory behavior in the presence of receptive females. Oxytocin (0.1 microgram), injected intraperitoneally 60 min before the eighth test, significantly shortened the mount, intromission and ejaculation latencies and post-ejaculation intervals, the effect being proportionately greater in the sexually sluggish rats. These data confirm that oxytocin plays a facilitatory role in mating behavior and suggest that it may prove useful in conditions of copulatory inadequacy.
Adult male house mice (Mus musculus) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi) were used to investigate the effects of partial denervation of the larynx on ultrasound production. In addition the masculine sexual behavior of vocalizing and muted males was assessed on tests with receptive females. For both species, unilateral transections of the inferior laryngeal nerve (ILN) significantly reduced the proportion of males that emitted ultrasonic vocalizations. However, the inability to vocalize did not prevent the display of male sexual behavior. Bilateral transections of the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) failed to abolish ultrasound production in males of both species. These nerve transections, however, reduced the amount of ultrasound recorded during postsurgical tests, and in the case of deer mice, cuts of the SLN increased the latency to the first vocalization. The present results confirm the importance of the ILN in the neural control of ultrasonic vocalizations and indicate that, at least in laboratory tests, the ability to emit ultrasounds is not a necessary condition for the display of mating behavior in male rodents.
A meta-analytic review of the influence of HIV risk reduction interventions on sexual occasions, number of partners, and abstinence was conducted to assess whether condom-related interventions inadvertently undermine sexual risk reduction efforts by increasing the frequency of sexual behavior. Included studies examined sexual risk reduction strategies and used a controlled design. Data from 174 studies (206 interventions, N = 116,735 participants) were included. In general, HIV risk reduction interventions neither increased nor decreased sexual occasions or number of partners reported. Participants in intervention conditions were less likely to be sexually active than those in control conditions. When samples included more black participants, interventions reduced the number of sexual occasions; interventions were more successful at reducing the number of partners in samples that included more men who have sex with men (MSM) or individuals engaged in sex trading. Samples that included more MSM were more likely to adopt abstinence as a risk reduction strategy. Interventions that included more information, motivational enhancement, and skills training also led to greater risk reduction. HIV risk reduction interventions do not increase the overall frequency of sexual activity. To the contrary, for some subgroups, interventions that include components recommended by behavioral science theory reduce the frequency of sexual events and partners.
No changes were found in the concentration of tryptophan (Trp), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) or 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of male rats either before sexual activity, immediately after ejaculation of after the postejaculatory refractory period (PEI). Injection of the Trp hydroxylase inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA, 25 or 100 mg/kg i.p. for 3 days) in combination with an injection of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor pargyline (100 mg/kg i.p.) increased the concentration of Trp while decreasing the concentration of 5-HTP, 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the CSF. Furthermore 100 (but not 25) mg/kg PCPA in combination with pargyline caused a significant reduction in the latency to ejaculation. Injection of probenecid (200 mg/kg i.p.), an inhibitor of the transport of 5-HIAA from the CSF, increased the concentration of 5-HIAA in the CSF and slightly prolonged the latency to ejaculation. Sexual activity caused no further increase in CSF 5-HIAA levels in the probenecid-treated rats. Since drug-induced changes in sexual behavior are associated with marked alterations in 5-HT metabolism in the CSF, whereas the changes in the behavior which occur normally are not, these results question the physiological significance of the proposed inhibitory role of 5-HT in male rat sexual behavior.
There has been a rise in the frequency with which inhalational routes such as smoking are used for illicit drug use. A growing population of new inhalational drug users augments the pool of individuals at risk for transition to injection drug use. Further, illicit drug smoking has been implicated in the transmission of a variety of pathogens by the respiratory route, and crack smoking has been associated with an increased risk of HIV infection, particularly through the exchange of high-risk sex for drugs. Shotguns are an illicit drug smoking practice in which smoked drugs are exhaled or blown by one user into the mouth of another user. We conducted a series of ethnographic observations to attempt to characterize more fully the practice of shotgunning, the range of associated behaviors, and the settings and contexts in which this practice occurs. Shotguns may be seen as a form of drug use which has close ties to sexual behaviors, and which has both pragmatic and interpersonal motivations, combining in a single phenomenon the potential direct and indirect risk of disease transmission by sexual, blood borne and respiratory routes. These data support the need to develop and evaluate comprehensive risk reduction interventions, which take into consideration the relationships between interpersonal and sexual behaviors and specific forms of drug use.
We assessed the role of learning in the expression of female sexual behavior and evaluated the relative importance of age versus experience. Two studies were conducted with ovariectomized ewes submitted to steroid treatment that mimicked an estrus cycle. We compared behavioral (experiments 1 and 2), neurochemical (experiment 1), and endocrine (experiment 2) responses of sexually naive young and adult ewes versus sexually experienced adults when exposed to males. In a third study, we compared their performance in an instrumental learning test and the extent to which it was affected by stress. These experiments showed that proceptivity is affected both by age and sexual experience. In experiment 1 only experienced adults were proceptive and displayed an increase in hypothalamic norepinephrine. By the second estrus cycle (experiment 2) naive adults performed similarly to experienced adults but proceptive behavior was still inferior in young ewes. Receptivity was also different between groups but affected more by age than by sexual experience. All ewes mated during the first interaction with a male, although males' latency to ejaculation was shorter with experienced females than naive adults or naive young. Young ewes found food as readily as adults in experiment 3 but were more affected by stress. Together, these experiments show that both experience and age influence sexual activity and that sensitivity to stress may also be involved. This may contribute to the deficient reproductive performance that is often observed in young female mammals.
Effects of the HIV-Risk Timeline Followback Interview (TLFB), which uses detailed memory cues to assess retrospectively sexual behavior and substance use on a day-by-day basis, on HIV risk-reduction motivation were tested. Thirty-four adults (76% male, 100% African American) were randomly assigned to three interview conditions: (a) HIV-Risk TLFB Interview, (b) 27 sexual behavior frequency questions, and (c) diet and nutrition using the TLFB format. Participants completed measures of HIV risk-reduction motivation immediately before and after the experimental assessment component. The a priori hypotheses that the HIV-Risk TLFB group would exhibit greater increases on indices of HIV risk reduction motivation than participants in either of the other two groups and that participants in the nutrition interview condition would exhibit greater increases in motivation for dietary improvement were supported, indicating that participating in detailed health behavior interviews, but not cursory assessments, may lead to increased motivation for behavior change.
The administration of apomorphine (0.2-0.8 mg/kg IP) or (+)3-PPP(4-8 mg/kg IP) produced a facilitation of the male rat sexual behavior. Apomorphine in lower doses, as well as the selective DA autoreceptor agonist (-)3-PPP were ineffective. Except for a decrease in number of intromissions and an increase in the postejaculatory interval at the highest dose (0.32 mg/kg IP) there were no effects after administration of haloperidol. These data indicate that activation or inhibition of the presynaptic dopamine receptor does not affect male rat sexual behavior.
82 female college students completed a body-image scale and an inventory on sexual behavior. These female students differing in sexual activity can be distinguished on the basis of body image.
Previous studies in rats suggested that picrotoxin, a GABA(A) receptor antagonist, may cause long-term changes in male reproductive physiology and behavior in rats exposed during prenatal and postnatal periods. The present study has further examined this phenomenon. Wistar rat dams were dosed subcutaneously with 0.75 mg/kg picrotoxin in saline, or vehicle alone, during the perinatal period (day 19 of gestation, immediately after parturition, and once a day during the first 5 days of lactation). Birth weight and sexual maturation of pups were unchanged; however, plasma testosterone levels and sexual behavior was altered in male offspring. Although fertile, these males showed altered mating behavior in terms of a decrease in the mean number of mounts during a 30-min observation period with normal females. Some showed homosexual behavior when castrated and pretreated with exogenous estrogen. These findings suggest that perinatal exposure to picrotoxin alters sexual dimorphism in the developing rat brain, manifesting as altered reproductive performance and sexual behavior of males.
Obese female Zucker rats (fa/fa) are sterile. Among their reproductive abnormalities is hyporesponsiveness to the stimulatory effects of ovarian steroid hormones on sexual behaviors. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that obese Zucker females are deficient in hypothalamic/preoptic area estrogen receptors (ERs) and/or estradiol-induced progestin receptors (PRs). Ovariectomized (OVX) lean and obese Zucker rats were tested for the display of sexual behaviors following injection of estradiol benzoate (EB, 15 or 100 microg/kg) plus progesterone (P, 2 mg/kg). As expected, obese females showed significantly lower lordosis quotients and lordosis ratings than lean animals after injection of the lower, physiological dose of EB followed by P. In contrast, obese and lean females receiving the higher EB dose, prior to P, showed similar levels of sexual receptivity. Two weeks later, these OVX lean and obese females received injections of vehicle, 15 or 100 microg/kg EB, prior to perfusion and tissue processing for PR immunocytochemistry (ICC). Additional groups of OVX virgin females of both genotypes were perfused and tissue from the preoptic area and hypothalamus was processed for ER alpha ICC. No genotypic differences in the number of cells containing ER alpha-immunoreactivity (-IR) in the medial preoptic area (MPOA), ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) or arcuate nucleus (ARC) were noted, but obese females had significantly fewer ER alpha-IR cells in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) than lean rats. In both genotypes, the number of PR-IR cells in the AVPV, MPOA and VMH was significantly higher following injection of EB (either dose) as compared to vehicle, demonstrating estradiol induction of PRs. Only in the MPOA was there a significant difference between fat and lean females in estradiol-induced PR-IR. Obese females receiving 15 microg/kg EB had fewer PR-IR cells in the MPOA than comparably-treated lean animals. No such genotypic difference was observed following injection of the vehicle or higher dose (100 microg/kg) of EB. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that deficiencies in ER alpha in the AVPV and/or PRs in the MPOA may contribute to obese Zucker females' poor responsiveness to ovarian steroid hormones.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the demasculinizing and feminizing effects of prenatal stress (i.e., stress applied to the mother during pregnancy) in rats reported previously are mediated by activation of the maternal pituitary-adrenal axis. Neither whole-body restraint, with or without hyperthermia, nor ACTH treatment during the last third of gestation had any reliable effect on masculine or feminine sexual behavior in male Sprague-Dawley offspring, although these treatments produced maternal pathology and evidence of maternal adrenocorticoid release. Significant littermate similarity was found for almost every morphological and behavioral measure. Failure to control for the litter variable may account for many previously reported effects of prenatal stress on sexual behavior in rats. The discrepancy between the present and earlier findings is discussed in terms of methodological and theoretical considerations.
Historically, inpatient sexuality has been a neglected issue in hospital policy. Recent studies have confirmed sexual activity among individuals with mental illness and have noted several areas of concern surrounding patient care and sexuality. We surveyed private mental health facilities within the state of Ohio. Twenty-five percent of the responding hospitals had a formal sexual policy and the majority (72%) said that sexual behavior was an infrequent problem. Considering the short-term stays common at these facilities, policies at such institutions should focus on dealing with situations when they occur and properly training and informing staff on issues surrounding sexual activity in psychiatric inpatients.
Research has established the broad mammalian developmental plan that genes on the sex chromosomes influence gonad development which determines gonadal hormone production (or its absence) leading to modification of the genitalia and simultaneously biasing the nervous system to organize adult sexual behavior. This might be considered the "gonad to hormones to behavior" model. It is clear, however, that although this model generally works well it is incomplete. The model does not account for behavioral influences attributed to the environment or to genetic but nongonadal or hormonal factors. In this essay we probe those areas of sexual development that are neither differentiated by hormones nor activated by them. The concept of the environment used for our discussion is very broad; it incorporates considerations of both the molar and the molecular levels. The general sense of the word "environment" as something exterior to the person is retained, even if that something influences intraperson processes. In addition, we focus directly on molecular events themselves. Here the "environment" involved can be that within a DNA segment. We also expand the notion of "biologically based sex differences." Although many, and perhaps most, important sex differences arise from gonadal and hormonal development, also important are sex differences which are neither gonadal nor hormonal. All these factors affect the internal workings of the individual and intervene in structuring how the social environment might or might not modify sexual behavior. This discourse calls attention to features that are central to the so-called nature-nurture discussion.
The effects of intracerebral infusions of the 5-HT1A agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), on sexual behaviors of intact, proestrous rats were examined. When administered into either the rostral or the caudal portions of the medial preoptic area (mPOA), bilateral infusions of 200, 500, or 2,000 ng of 8-OH-DPAT reduced lordosis behavior (e.g. the lordosis/mount ratio; L/M) and increased the female's resistance to the male's attempts to mount. Infusions within the mid-rostrocaudal mPOA failed to suppress lordosis behavior but were as effective as the rostral or caudal infusions in the elicitation of resistive behavior. A reduction in the L/M ratio was usually accompanied by a slight decline in the quality of the lordosis reflex; proceptivity, as evidenced by the occurrence of hopping and darting behavior, was not consistently reduced by 8-OH-DPAT. In fact, 4 out of 7 rats that received mid-rostrocaudal infusions of 8-OH-DPAT showed a "frenzied" accentuation of hopping and darting behavior. These results suggest that 5-HT1A receptors in the mPOA play an important role in several components of female sexual behavior. The identification of a rostral and caudal location of mPOA sites where 8-OH-DPAT suppressed lordosis behavior is consistent with the organization of 5-HT fibers in the mPOA and with ventromedial hypothalamic (VMN) input into the mPOA.
The administration of 5-methoxy-N,N-di-methyl-tryptamine (5-MeODMT), O-2.0 mg.kg-1 SC -15 min, produced a dose-dependent facilitation of the male rat sexual behavior, as evidenced by a decrease in the number of intromissions to ejaculation and in the ejaculation latency. The effects produced by 5-MeODMT (1 mg.kg-1) were antagonized by pindolol (4 mg.kg-1 SC -30 min), but not pirenperone (0.25 mg.kg-1 SC -30 min) or metergoline (1 mg.kg-1 SC -30 min), administration. As expected, 5-HTP (25 mg.kg-1 SC -60 min) produced an increased number of mounts and intromissions to ejaculation and an increase in the ejaculation latency in benserazide (25 mg.kg-1 SC -90 min) pretreated animals. Pindolol (4 mg.kg-1) by itself produced the same effects as seen after 5-HTP administration, and the combination of these compounds produced additive effects. Betaxolol (8 mg.kg-1 SC -30 min) had no effects of its own and did not interact with 5-HTP. The results suggest that stimulation of brain 5-HT1 or 5-HT2 receptors produces facilitation and inhibition, respectively, of the male rat sexual behavior.