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Laser Doppler Imaging: a New Measure of Genital Blood Flow In LASER DOPPLER IMAGING: A NEW MEASURE OF GENITAL BLOOD FLOW IN FEMALE SEXUAL AROUSAL by SAMANTHA E. WAXMAN A thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada August, 2009 Copyright © Samantha E. Waxman, 2009 Abstract Female sexual arousal refers to one’s feelings of sexual excitement and pleasure and has both physiological (i.e., objective) and psychological (i.e., subjective) components. It is an important, yet difficult phenomenon to investigate. As a result, many instruments have been used in an attempt to accurately measure female arousal; however, there are problems associated with each. Furthermore, the relationship between the subjective and physiological indicators of sexual arousal appears to be influenced by the instrument used to measure physiological sexual arousal. Specifically, instruments measuring physiological arousal internally (i.e., vaginal photoplethysmography) typically yield lower correlations between measures of physiological and subjective sexual arousal than instruments examining the external genitals (i.e., labial thermistor, thermal imager), which indirectly measure blood flow. Alternatively, laser Doppler imaging (LDI) is a direct measure of external genital blood flow but has only been used in one previous study that did not assess the relationship between physiological and subjective sexual arousal. The aims of the current study were to investigate the usefulness of LDI for assessing genital blood flow in women in response to erotic visual stimuli, and to explore the relationship between physiological and subjective indicators of sexual arousal. In addition, the role of psychosocial variables in predicting physiological and subjective sexual arousal was also examined. Eighty sexually healthy women completed a psychosocial interview and questionnaires. Participants also watched three 15-minute films during LDI scanning: two nature films (measuring acclimatization and baseline blood flow levels) and one randomly assigned experimental film (erotic, anxiety, humor, or neutral). They were asked to rate their level of subjective sexual arousal throughout ii and following the third film. Results indicated that LDI was able to differentiate the erotic condition from the three non-erotic conditions, and that physiological and subjective sexual arousal were significantly correlated. Although the psychosocial variables did not significantly predict either component of sexual arousal, specific variables moderated the association. Psychological, sexual, and social variables, along with genital sensations, played significant roles in the relationship between subjective and physiological sexual arousal. These findings suggest that LDI is a useful instrument for measuring female sexual arousal, and that sexual arousal is a complex process that requires further empirical investigation. iii Acknowledgments For my parents, who are now just finding out what my dissertation is really about. For Ricardo, who has been extremely patient, supportive, and tolerant of the wacky stuff that I do. Numerous people have contributed to this project and I am grateful for all their help, in particular the members of the SHRL. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Meredith Chivers and Dr. Kate Harkness, for their invaluable input. Your feedback has really helped to shape and improve my thesis. A very special thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Caroline Pukall, for accepting me into her lab and trusting me to complete this interesting project. She has been an excellent model of support, encouragement, and enthusiasm. iv Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................ii! Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................iv! Table of Contents.............................................................................................................v! List of Tables .................................................................................................................vii! List of Figures.............................................................................................................. viii! CHAPTER 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................1! CHAPTER 2: Literature Review .........................................................................................3! The Sexual Response Cycle.........................................................................................3! Female Sexual Arousal ................................................................................................7! Psychology of Female Sexual Arousal ..................................................................10! Physiology of Female Sexual Arousal...................................................................13! Measuring Female Sexual Arousal with Photoplethysmography..............................15! Measuring Female Sexual Arousal via Temperature Changes..................................22! Measuring Female Sexual Arousal through Change in Genital Blood Flow.............24! Research Objectives.......................................................................................................27! CHAPTER 3: Method........................................................................................................29! Participants.................................................................................................................29! Materials ....................................................................................................................30! Psychosocial Interview ..........................................................................................30! Questionnaires........................................................................................................30! Measures of Arousal ..............................................................................................36! Laser Doppler scans...........................................................................................36! Subjective Sexual Arousal .................................................................................37! Films ......................................................................................................................38! Procedure ...................................................................................................................39! CHAPTER 4: Results ........................................................................................................41! Descriptive Statistics..................................................................................................41! Data Considerations...............................................................................................41! Total Sample Demographic Characteristics...........................................................41! Total Sample Sexuality Characteristics .................................................................44! Means and Standard Deviations for Psychosocial Variables.....................................45! Comparison of Genital Blood Flow across Film Conditions.....................................47! Sexual and Non-Sexual Arousal Pre- and Post-Film Presentation ............................50! Continuous versus Discrete Measures of Subjective Sexual Arousal .......................57! Factor Analysis of Post-Film Questionnaire..............................................................59! Correlations and Regression between Subjective and Physiological Arousal...........60! v Correlations between Psychosocial and Sexual Arousal Variables...........................63! Analysis of Moderating Effects .................................................................................67! Considerations of Assumptions .............................................................................67! Analyses of Moderation.........................................................................................68! Moderation Analysis for Erotic Condition ............................................................70! Analysis of Mediating Effects ...................................................................................78! Mediation Analysis for Erotic Condition...............................................................79! CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................................83! Discussion......................................................................................................................83! Explaining the Relationship between Subjective and Physiological Arousal ...........85! Psychosocial Variables and Female Sexual Arousal .................................................87! Theoretical Implications ............................................................................................92! Limitations of the Current Study ...............................................................................95! Clinical Implications and Future Research Assessing Sexual Dysfunction ..............97! Future Research using LDI ......................................................................................100! Conclusions..............................................................................................................103!
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