Acute stress enhances pupillary responses to erotic nudes: Evidence for differential effects of sympathetic activation and cortisol.
Biol Psychol
; 137: 73-82, 2018 09.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30025747
ABSTRACT
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.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Comportamento Sexual
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Estresse Fisiológico
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Hidrocortisona
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Pupila
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Literatura Erótica
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biol Psychol
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article