sexual arousal

(noun)

Changes that occur during or in anticipation of sexual activity.

Related Terms

  • tumescence
  • sex flush
  • genitalia
  • erection
  • refractory period

Examples of sexual arousal in the following topics:

  • Male Sexual Response

    • As sexual arousal and stimulation continues, the glans of the erect penis will swell wider.
    • Some men older than age 40 report that they do not always have an erection when sexually aroused.
    • A young man or one with a strong sexual drive may experience enough sexual arousal for an erection with a passing thought or just the sight of a passerby.
    • Several hormones affect sexual arousal, including testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol.
    • Testosterone is the most commonly-studied hormone involved with sexuality, and it plays a key role in sexual arousal in males, with strong effects on central arousal mechanisms.
  • Female Sexual Response

    • Sexual arousal is caused by sexual desire during or in anticipation of sexual activity.
    • Reduced estrogen levels may be associated with increased vaginal dryness and less clitoral erection when aroused, but are not directly related to other aspects of sexual interest or arousal.
    • Mental and physical stimuli such as touch and the internal fluctuation of hormones influence sexual arousal.
    • Cognitive factors like sexual motivation, perceived gender role expectations, and sexual attitudes play important roles in women’s self-reported levels of sexual arousal.
    • Basson suggests that women’s need for intimacy prompts them to engage with sexual stimuli, leading to an experience of sexual desire and psychological sexual arousal.
  • Autonomic Reflexes

    • The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, micturition (urination), and sexual arousal.
    • Everyday examples include breathing, swallowing, and sexual arousal, and in some cases functions such as heart rate.
    • A more modern characterization is that the sympathetic nervous system is a quick- response, mobilizing system and the parasympathetic is a more slowly activated, dampening system—but there are exceptions, such as in sexual arousal and orgasm where both play a role.
  • Comparing the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous Systems

    • Examples of body processes controlled by the ANS include heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, urination, and sexual arousal.
    • The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, micturition (urination), and sexual arousal.
  • Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

    • The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, micturition (urination), and sexual arousal.
    • The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, pupillary dilation, micturition (urination), and sexual arousal.
  • Vagina

    • During arousal, the vagina gets moist to facilitate the entrance of the penis.
    • The absence of a hymen may not indicate prior sexual activity.
    • The vagina's primary functions are sexual arousal and intercourse as well as childbirth.
    • During sexual arousal, and particularly clitoral stimulation, the vaginal walls lubricate to reduce friction caused by sexual activity.
    • As the woman becomes fully aroused, the vagina tents (expands in length and width), while the cervix retracts.
  • Parasympathetic Responses

    • Its roles include stimulation of rest-and-digest activities that occur when the body is at rest, including sexual arousal, salivation, lacrimation (tears), urination, digestion, and defecation.
  • The Fight-or-Flight Response

    • The stress response halts or slows down various processes, such as sexual responses and digestive systems, to focus on the stressor situation.
    • This typically causes negative effects like constipation, anorexia, erectile dysfunction, difficulty urinating, and difficulty maintaining sexual arousal.
    • These are functions that are controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system and are therefore suppressed by sympathetic arousal.
  • Autonomic Interactions

    • The SNS promotes a fight-or-flight response, corresponds with arousal and energy generation, and performs the following functions:
  • Premature Ejaculation

    • Premature ejaculation is a medical condition where a man engaged in sexual intercourse ejaculates earlier than he would like to.
    • While men sometimes underestimate the relationship between sexual performance and emotional well-being, premature ejaculation can be caused by temporary depression, stress over financial matters, unrealistic expectations about performance, a history of sexual repression, or an overall lack of confidence.
    • Neurological premature ejaculation can also lead to other forms of sexual dysfunction, or intensify the existing problem, by creating performance anxiety.
    • In a less pathological context, premature ejaculation could also be caused simply by extreme arousal.
    • For example, males who are lower in the social hierarchy, especially among troupe primates such as chimpanzees, have little sexual access to females due to dominant males.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.