Psychophysiological aspects of male sexual inadequacy: results of an experimental study

Forty-two male patients and their sexual partners were studied: 16 patients with "psychogenic" erectile failure (eight each with the primary and secondary forms), 16 premature ejaculators, and 10 patients with diabetes-related impotence. Due to the higher mean age of the diabetics, an age-matched older control group (eight healthy males and their sexual partners) and an age-matched younger control group (16 healthy males and their sexual partners) were also studied. In an experimental situation various psychophysiological parameters were evaluated. The viewing of films depicting sexual behavior produced psychophysiological reactions in all subjects. The patient groups and the controls differed on the following five parameters: amount of increase in systolic blood pressure, amount of increase in number of spontaneous fluctuations in skin resistance, erection amplitude, latency of erection, and duration of erection. In the diabetic group the three erection parameters were very depressed. In the group with primary psychogenic erectile impotence all five parameters were lower than in the controls, with the greatest difference in spontaneous fluctuations in skin resistance. The psychophysiological profile of the group of patients with secondary psychogenic erectile impotence was surprisingly similar to the profile of the diabetics, with a sharp increase in systolic blood pressure and in spontaneous fluctuations in skin resistance, but very depressed erection parameters. There were no marked differences between the controls and the premature ejaculators. There were only a few correlations between self-rated sexual arousal and psychophysiological measures of sexual stimulation and these were not very high. They were found mainly in the patient groups.