Acute stress enhances pupillary responses to erotic nudes: Evidence for differential effects of sympathetic activation and cortisol
| Autor: | Andreas Behrje, Johannes B. Finke, Hartmut Schächinger |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System Coping (psychology) medicine.medical_specialty Sympathetic nervous system Sympathetic Nervous System Hydrocortisone Sexual Behavior Pituitary-Adrenal System 050105 experimental psychology Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Stress Physiological Internal medicine Adaptation Psychological Erotica medicine Pupillary response Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Chronic stress Saliva Hand Strength business.industry General Neuroscience 05 social sciences Stressor Pupil Cognition Autonomic nervous system Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Endocrinology medicine.anatomical_structure Female business Stress Psychological 030217 neurology & neurosurgery medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Biological Psychology. 137:73-82 |
| ISSN: | 0301-0511 |
| Popis: | Chronic stress attenuates reproductive behavior in many species, but evidence regarding the impact of acute stress on human sexual arousability is insufficient. Stressor-specific effects might result from divergent roles of both stress response systems. Social self-threat, linked to affiliation-oriented coping, might also influence sexual responsivity. To investigate stress-induced modulation of the processing of sexual cues and its relationship with cortisol, 58 participants underwent either a predominantly sympathetic stressor (3 min sustained handgrip) or similar control procedure. In both conditions, half of the sample was monitored by an opposite-sex person (social evaluation). Pupillary responses to erotic nudes were recorded and dissociated into fast and slow PCA components. Physically stressed participants showed enhanced (slow) dilation to explicit pictures. Cortisol levels after stress negatively predicted rapid responses to opposite-sex and (marginally) explicit stimuli. Our results suggest that acute sympathetic stress exposure facilitates cognitive sexual processing, whereas subsequent HPA-axis activation may induce counteracting effects. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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