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The Neurobiology of Sexual Responses and Its Clinical Relevance

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Psychiatry and Sexual Medicine

Abstract

Sexual responses are regulated by hormonal, neurochemical, and neuronal factors and networks. An understanding of these basic principles is necessary for diagnostics, counseling, and treatment of sexual problems. This chapter includes a description of essential mechanisms of sexual function on a neurochemical, hormonal, and neuronal level. Analogous to the dual control model there are inhibitory (e.g., serotonin) and excitatory hormone and neurotransmitter systems (sex steroids, dopamine) that control and modulate sexual responses. Neuronal structures have been identified that are responsible for processing sexual stimuli and eliciting sexual responses. These networks are altered in subjects with sexual disorders or by pharmacological treatments such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, dopamine antagonists, or antiandrogens. The knowledge of the neurobiology of sexuality forms the basis for the treatment of sexual dysfunctions in psychiatry and other areas.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Tillmann H. C. Krüger

  2. Sexological Clinic, Psychiatric Center Copenhagen and Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Annamaria Giraldi

  3. Oswego State University of New York, Oswego, NY, USA

    Gilian Tenbergen

Authors
  1. Tillmann H. C. Krüger
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  2. Annamaria Giraldi
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  3. Gilian Tenbergen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tillmann H. C. Krüger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland

    Michal Lew-Starowicz

  2. Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Sexological Clinic, Rigshospitalet, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Annamaria Giraldi

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Tillmann H. C. Krüger

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Krüger, T.H.C., Giraldi, A., Tenbergen, G. (2021). The Neurobiology of Sexual Responses and Its Clinical Relevance. In: Lew-Starowicz, M., Giraldi, A., Krüger, T. (eds) Psychiatry and Sexual Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52298-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52298-8_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-52297-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52298-8

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