As such, it may be the ideal region of interest for investigating sexual preferences. The VS-and in particular the nucleus accumbens subsection-is a neural epicenter for selecting actions on the basis of their relative valuations 28, 29. In studies that have attempted to distinguish sexual arousal and general arousal (i.e., non-sexual and potentially non-valenced autonomic, neuroendocrine, and neuromodulatory changes), only activity within the ventral striatum (VS) and hypothalamus have been specifically associated with the experience of stimuli as erotic, and in addition correlating with degree of sexual intensity 26, 27. When sexual stimuli produce significant fMRI responses, it can be difficult to determine the extent to which different brain regions indicate general arousal, sexual arousal, or both. However, since a particular brain area can activate for multiple reasons, caution is needed in making inferences about functional significance from observed activity 23, 24, 25. This is unsurprising, since to the extent that individuals are oriented to seek out particular sexual interactions 19, they are probably-although not necessarily 5-motivated by the anticipation that such interactions will be rewarding 20, 21, 22. Specific results vary by experimental paradigm, but findings generally suggest that mechanisms underlying the response to erotic stimuli overlap with those involved in responding to arousing and rewarding stimuli more generally 16, 17, 18. Numerous studies have examined the neuroimaging correlates of responses to sexual stimuli since the first investigations by Rauch et al.
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The present research focuses on reward-related brain regions. Neuroimaging techniques, in contrast, can localize activity within various brain structures, and therefore suggest and test hypotheses about diverse psychological processes influencing sexuality. Even with briefly-presented erotic pictures, fMRI has demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity and specificity in measuring sexual orientation 11, 12, 13.įurthermore, genital arousal is capable only of indicating degree of increase or decrease along a single dimension of tumescence, and thus provides little qualitative information on the mental states underlying sexual arousal and desire. Neuroimaging, however, may have a variety of methodological advantages, including the potential for greater sensitivity in detecting motivational responses to stimuli that are psychologically significant yet unlikely to result in noticeable physiological changes 9 or even subjective responses 10. If the term sexual orientation is used to describe a pattern of arousal and attraction 1, then genital assessment has high face validity for studying sexual orientation in men. While most individuals identify as heterosexual, a significant number of individuals also report identifying as homosexual (1.9–2% of the US population) or bisexual (2–4% of the US population), with even greater proportions reporting some degree of same-sex behavior or attraction 7, 8. The term sexual orientation is used to indicate an individual’s sexual arousal and attraction patterns, sexual behavior patterns, or sexual identity 1, which often go together but can also differ from each other 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. This study extends previous findings of gender-specific neural responses in monosexual men, and provides initial evidence for distinct brain activity patterns in bisexual men. Consistent patterns were observed in the whole brain, including the VS, and also in additional regions such as occipitotemporal, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortices. Bisexual men tended to show less differentiation between male and female stimuli. Patterns were consistent with sexual orientation, with heterosexual and homosexual men showing female-favoring and male-favoring responses, respectively. We focused on the ventral striatum (VS), due to its association with incentive motivation.
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Sixty participants were included in video analyses, and 62 were included in picture analyses. We used fMRI to investigate neural correlates of responses to erotic pictures and videos in heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men, ages 25–50. Inconsistent results have previously been obtained in bisexual men, who have sometimes demonstrated distinctly bisexual responses, but other times demonstrated patterns more similar to those observed in monosexual men. heterosexual and homosexual) men have repeatedly found that erotic stimuli depicting men’s preferred sex produce strong responses, whereas erotic stimuli depicting the other sex produce much weaker responses. Studies of subjective and genital sexual arousal in monosexual (i.e.