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The Importance Of Continued Research Concerning The Biological Basis of Behavior Surrounding Sexual Arousal.

Studies on many paraphiliac disorders have led to speculations of the etiology of sexual deviance. Discrepancies surrounding the different typologies of sexual offenders have been found, and some have more explanatory justifications for developing pathologies than others. Surrounding pedophiles, subjects who feel strong sexual attraction towards children, the etiology remains unknown (Geer et al., 1999). This is why further research should be conducted concerning sexual deviance, as greater knowledge gained can possibly lead us to better solutions. The discovery of the true etiological cause of the different sexual deviances may further educate the public on how to protect its children from deviant sexual predators, as well as educate the community on what factors are responsible for suggesting such sexual deviance. Thus, research in this area would not only benefit the mental health profession, but also law enforcement and the community.

Although most of our knowledge concerning sexual behavior is greatly dependent on animal research, we have managed to distinguish one of the major discrepancies in sexual functioning that separates humans from other animals. This discrepancy is sexual arousal. Unlike animals, humans are aroused by sexual imagery (Stoleru et al., 1999). However, the imagery is subjective, thus, the reason why an individual may prefer one image from another. In order to observe an individual’s preference of one image over another, we have to look at the brain activity during the time the image is being viewed. The part of the brain that concerns us when dealing with sexual arousal is the limbic system, which includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, the amygdala, and the hippocampus. The limbic system is responsible for the, “processing of memories, creation of emotional states, drives, and associated behaviors” (Martini et al., 1998). It has been supported that sexual arousal is regulated by the limbic system, and that particularly, the hypothalamus carries a great role in sexual arousal and desire. In a study attempting to find if the hypothalamus was indeed responsible for sexual aggression, “neurosurgical unilateral destructions of hypothalamic nuclei were performed” to indicate whether or not sexual behaviors would be subdued due to the absence of hypothalamic nuclei. The results were that a majority of the subjects showed a decrease in both sexual desire and sexual fantasy (Stoleru et al., 1999).

The most current research done on sexual offenders with the intention of finding the etiological cause of sexual deviance is conducted by evaluating arousal rates measured by a penile plethysmography, which is “a mercury-in-rubber (MIR) circumferential strain guage [that is] used to measure erectile responses to sexual stimuli.”. This device uses “electrical resistance of the mercury guages” to detect the circumferential transformations of the penis. These changes are then reported to a preamplifier (plethysmograph) which is connected to a polygraph that transmits the data to a computer. The data is then illustrated onto the monitor (Bernat et al., 1999). In addition to the penile plethysmography, the positron emission topography (PET) scan was recently used to conduct a research studying visually evoked sexual arousal among human males. In this research, the focus was on the activities surrounding the limbic system, particularly the hypothalamus, and the right prefrontal cortex. Although it was difficult to detect activity in the hypothalamic structures due to its small size, this research was a pilot for further studies involving the usage of positron emission tomography to monitor sexual arousal (Stoleru et al., 1999).

Although it is doubtful that any one study will discover the etiological cause of sexual deviance, it is important to keep in mind that research is progressive. Each study is a derivative of the previous studies. The previous experiments serve as precedents to the future experiments, and the more history it has, the more researchers are equipped with greater knowledge. Research will add to the understanding of paraphilias as disorders, and how sexual deviance is originated, as well measuring the degree differences in arousal rates between different types of sexual deviants. On the whole, continued research will only contribute to the understanding of these disorders, and perhaps hint on their etiological origination.

Works Cited:
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.

Bernat, Jeffrey A., Calhoun, K. S., and Henry E. Adams (1999). Sexually aggressive and nonaggressive men: sexual arousal and judgements in response to acquaintance rape and concensual analogues. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108. 662-673.

Geer, J. H., Estupinan, L. A., and Manguno-Mire, G. M. (1999). Empathy, social skills, and other relevant cognitive processes in rapists and child molesters. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 99-126.

Martini, Frederic H., Ober, W. C., Garrison, C. W., Welch, K., and Ralph T. Hutchings. Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology. Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: 1998.

Stoleru, Serge, Gregoire, M., Gerard, D., and et al (1999). Neuroanatomical Correlates of Visually Evoked Sexual Arousal in Human Males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28, 1-21.

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