Psychophysiological correlates of sexually and non-sexually motivated attention to film clips in a workload task

Some authors have speculated that the cognitive component (P3) of the Event-Related Potential (ERP) can function as a
psychophysiological measure of sexual interest. The aim of this study was to determine if the P3 ERP component in a
workload task can be used as a specific and objective measure of sexual motivation by comparing the neurophysiologic
response to stimuli of motivational relevance with different levels of valence and arousal. A total of 30 healthy volunteers
watched different films clips with erotic, horror, social-positive and social-negative content, while answering an auditory
oddball paradigm. Erotic film clips resulted in larger interference when compared to both the social-positive and auditory
alone conditions. Horror film clips resulted in the highest levels of interference with smaller P3 amplitudes than erotic and
also than social-positive, social-negative and auditory alone condition. No gender differences were found. Both horror and
erotic film clips significantly decreased heart rate (HR) when compared to both social-positive and social-negative films. The
erotic film clips significantly increased the skin conductance level (SCL) compared to the social-negative films. The horror
film clips significantly increased the SCL compared to both social-positive and social-negative films. Both the highly
arousing erotic and non-erotic (horror) movies produced the largest decrease in the P3 amplitude, a decrease in the HR and
an increase in the SCL. These data support the notion that this workload task is very sensitive to the attentional resources
allocated to the film clip, although they do not act as a specific index of sexual interest. Therefore, the use of this
methodology seems to be of questionable utility as a specific measure of sexual interest or as an objective measure of the
severity of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.
BIAL grant ‘‘The
Neuropsychophysiological Basis of Empathy: The Role of Neuroendocrine; Autonomic and Central Nervous System Variables’’
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/64355/2009, SFRH/BD/41484/2007
Spanish Xunta de Galicia (DOG 233 –Resolution date: 2009 November 18)