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Brain responses to erotic and other emotional stimuli in breast cancer survivors with and without distress about low sexual desire: a preliminary fMRI study

  • SI: Neuroimaging Studies of Cancer and Cancer Treatment
  • Published:
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Abstract

Many breast cancer survivors report a loss of sexual desire and arousability, consonant with the new DSM-V category of female sexual interest/arousal disorder. The cause of decreased sexual desire and pleasure after treatment for cancer is unknown. One possibility is that cancer, or treatment for cancer, damages brain circuits that are involved in reward-seeking. To test the hypothesis that brain reward systems are involved in decreased sexual desire in breast cancer survivors, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain responses to erotica and other emotional stimuli in two groups of women previously treated for breast cancer with chemotherapy: those who were distressed about a perceived loss of sexual desire and those who may have had low desire, but were not distressed about it. Women distressed about their desire had reduced brain responses to erotica in the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which are part of the brain reward system. This study is the first to demonstrate, in cancer survivors, that problems with sexual desire/arousability are associated with blunted brain responses to erotica in reward systems. Future research is necessary to determine whether brain responses differ as a result of chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and menopausal status. This may contribute to the development of new, evidence-based interventions for one of the most prevalent and enduring side effects of cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds from the University Cancer Foundation and the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment via the Cancer Survivorship Research Seed Money Grants at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to Francesco Versace.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Breast Cancer Management System Database was consulted to obtain the initial list of potential participants.

The authors wish to thank Lauren Baker, Jerell Jones, Cheryl Mize, and Jennifer Ng for their help in data collection.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral Science–Unit 1330, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 301439, Houston, TX, 77230-1439, USA

    Francesco Versace, Jeffrey M. Engelmann, Edward F. Jackson, Aurelija Slapin, Kristin M. Cortese, Therese B. Bevers & Leslie R. Schover

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  1. Francesco Versace
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  2. Jeffrey M. Engelmann
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Correspondence to Francesco Versace.

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Versace, F., Engelmann, J.M., Jackson, E.F. et al. Brain responses to erotic and other emotional stimuli in breast cancer survivors with and without distress about low sexual desire: a preliminary fMRI study. Brain Imaging and Behavior 7, 533–542 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-013-9252-1

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