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A Monoamine Hypothesis for the Pathophysiology of Paraphilic Disorders

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Abstract

A monoamine pathophysiological hypothesis for paraphilias in males is based on the following data: (i) the monoamines norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin are involved in the appetitive dimension of male sexual behavior in laboratory animals; (ii) data gathered from studying the side effect profiles of antidepressant, psychostimulant, and neuroleptic drugs in humans suggest that alteration of central monoamine neurotransmission can have substantial effects on human sexual functioning, including sexual appetite; (iii) monoamine neurotransmitters appear to modulate dimensions of human and animal psychopathology including impulsivity, anxiety, depression, compulsivity, and pro/antisocial behavior, dimensions disturbed in many paraphiliacs; (iv) pharmacological agents that ameliorate psychiatric disorders characterized by the aforementioned characteristics, especially central serotonin enhancing drugs, can ameliorate paraphilic sexual arousal and behavior.

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  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

    Martin P. Kafka

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Kafka, M.P. A Monoamine Hypothesis for the Pathophysiology of Paraphilic Disorders. Arch Sex Behav 26, 343–358 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024535201089

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