Females' affective responses to reading erotic literature.

The affective states of sexual arousal, guilt, anxiety, and 11 Nowlis mood factors were studied in 72 college females before and after reading either an erotic or an academically oriented literary passage, with a female E either present or absent, and as a function of the personality disposition of sex guilt. Ss who read the erotic passage showed a significant increase in sexual arousal. High sex guilt Ss significantly increased their affective state of guilt when they read the erotic passage in comparison to the Ss in all of the other cells. Anxiety increased as a function of reading the erotic passage in the presence of E. Conceptual distinctions between sexual behavior and sexual arousal, between guilt as personality disposition and as state, and between affective states of fear and guilt are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The menstrual cycle and punitiveness.

Studied the levels of punishment and reliability of punishments/judgments made by menstruating or premenstrual women by having Ss read vignettes of 7 different college disciplinary cases and select a level of punishment. 12 menstrual, 10 premenstrual, and 13 intermenstrual women participated, as did 10 males of comparable age and background. Two additional groups of 7 women each were led to believe they were (1) in the premenstrual phase or (2) still several days away from it. Findings show that punitiveness and reliability of judgments did not differ across menstrual phases or between males and females. The task was perceived as more difficult by males and by females led to believe they were premenstrual. A relationship was found between severity of menstrual symptoms and punitiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in emotional responses to erotic literature.

Compared the effect on male and female undergraduates (n = 112) of reading an erotic passage from a novel; control Ss (n = 112) read a passage from a psychology textbook. Men reported more sexual arousal, interest, and joy in response to the erotic passage, and women reported more disgust. Differences were significant but not large. The sexes did not differ as to fear or guilt reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serum immunoglobulins E are related to menstrual cycle

During a cross sectional epidemiological survey on a general population sample, 596 fertile women underwent total serum IgE determination. They completed an interviewer-administered standardized questionnaire and were categorized according to their menstrual period. They were divided into two groups: those from days 10 to 20, who were considered to be in the periovulatory phase, and those in the other phases. IgE mean values were significantly different (p = 0.01) in the two groups: particularly, lower IgE values were found in those in periovulatory phase, after accounting for smoking habit and atopic status. By multiple regression analysis, taking into account the independent effects of menstrual period, age, smoking habit, hours of fast, skin prick test reactivity and presence of cough, significantly lower IgE values in the periovulatory phase were found. We hypothesize the possibility that a decrease of IgE concentration occurs during midcycle: a reduced immune response might facilitate the ovuli implantation. Further studies are necessary to longitudinally investigate the trend of IgE in the same women, as well as the distributions and the trends of other immunoglobulins.     

Sleep and the menstrual cycle.

To evaluate changes in sleep across the phases of the menstrual cycle, sleep-wake diaries were completed by 32 healthy women twice daily for 2 menstrual cycles. There was a significant increase in sleep onset latency and a significant decrease in sleep efficiency and sleep quality during the luteal phase. This increase in sleep disturbance was observed in the entire sample and was not related to the severity of other premenstrual symptoms. However, women having increased severity of other premenstrual symptoms reported greater luteal increase in daytime sleepiness. Thus, although menstruating women are likely to show increased sleep disturbance during the luteal phase, those with other, more severe premenstrual symptoms are more likely to experience a luteal increase in daytime sleepiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The regulation mechanism of the female menstrual cycle

The hormonal patterns during menstrual cycle, which consist of cyclic alterations in gonadotropins, estradiol, and progesterone, are controlled by hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian feedback mechanism. GnRH produced in hypothalamus acts on the pituitary cells to secrete FSH and LH, which stimulate the follicular development. The developed follicles secrete estradiol, progesterone, inhibin, activin, and follistatin. Estradiol and progesterone, at different concentrations and/or ratios, either positively or negatively control the feedback of hypothalamic-pituitary axis in regulating the secretion of GnRH, FSH and LH. Inhibin and follistatin selectively suppress, whereas activin enhances the secretion of FSH in the pituitary. Recently, various additional factors produced by the ovary have been identified to contribute to the follicular development by paracrine and/or autocrine regulation as well as to feedback on hypothalamic-pituitary unit.     

Sex differences in emotional responses to "erotic literature."

32 males and 32 females read either a chapter from C. Willingham's Eternal Fire, an erotic and essentially exploitative passage, or a series of sections from Lady Chatterly's Lover which were modified to portray a clearly positive sexual experience for Lady Chatterly. Data from the Differential Emotions Scale and the Sexual Arousal Scale indicate that sex differences in response to erotic literature are complex and depend on the interpersonal as well as the erotic content of the passages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genital and psychoaffective response to erotic stimulation in sexually functional and dysfunctional men.

To understand the sexual response patterns of men with premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, the authors compared genital and affective responses of sexually functional and dysfunctional men with 3 types of sexual stimulation: an erotic video, penile vibrotactile stimulation, and a combination of both. Genital response differed across both groups and stimulus conditions, with an interactive effect indicating that groups showed different response patterns depending on the stimulation. Affective responses also differed across groups and interacted with stimulus conditions. The combination genital and affective response was superior to either alone in distinguishing men with no sexual problems from those with erectile or ejaculatory problems (or both). These factors were particularly useful in discriminating men with premature ejaculation from those with combined premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women, alcohol and the menstrual cycle

This review presents evidence which implicates a role for menstrual cycle phase in the response of pre-menopausal women to moderate alcohol intake. It is concluded that the majority of published studies have suffered from poor methodological design and have employed inadequate means of cycle phase identification. Contradictory and ill-founded findings have been reported. The best evidence to date suggests that women eliminate alcohol more rapidly during the mid-luteal phase of the cycle. This finding needs to be substantiated by further studies.     

Endocrine regulation of the menstrual cycle

Physiological data concerning the serum concentrations and the pituitary content of varian steroids and gonadotropins, respectively, are reviewed. On the basis of these physiological data results from experimental studies are critically evaluated as far as their significance for the understanding of the physiology of the cycle is concerned. Data from the literatur and results from own studies are incorporated in a concept of the endocrine regulation of the human menstrual cycle.     

Effects of menstrual cycle on creativity

Activation of transfected muscarinic m1 acetylcholine receptors (m1AChR) has been linked to several signal transduction pathways which include phosphoinositide hydrolysis, arachidonic acid release and cAMP accumulation. In Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the rat m1AChR gene, carbachol elicited all three responses with EC50 values of 2.6, 3.8 and 76 microM, respectively. However, pilocarpine and the selective muscarinic agonist AF102B activated phosphoinositide hydrolysis (by 94 and 27% vs. carbachol, respectively), while antagonizing carbachol-mediated cAMP accumulation. Carbachol also activated (by 4-fold) adenylyl cyclase in membranes prepared from these cells, indicating independence of this signal from intracellular mediators. Moreover, carbachol and AF102B similarly elevated cytosolic Ca2+ in intact m1AChR-transfected cells. The ligand-selective cAMP accumulation, its independence from Ca2+ and the carbachol-activated adenylyl cyclase in membranes suggest that it represents an independent m1AChR-mediated signal, unrelated to phosphoinositide hydrolysis. Selective muscarinic ligands such as AF102B may independently activate distinct signalling pathways, which may be important for designing cholinergic replacement therapy for treating Alzheimer's disease.     

The timing of breast cancer surgery during the menstrual cycle

A number of recent studies have suggested that survival among premenopausal women after primary treatment of breast cancer may be affected by the estimated hormonal milieu at the time of surgery, especially in those with axillary lymph node metastases. The concept has created considerable controversy and has resulted in the publication of many negative reports. However, several biological mechanisms have been suggested for the observed survival advantage. These include cyclical patterns of immune function, as well as cell division and cell death, that correlate with hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. Comparisons among studies of timing have been complicated by differences in menstrual cycle divisions, variability in the sources of study populations, limited availability of menstrual history data, and changes over the past 2 decades in primary and adjuvant breast cancer therapy. Several recent publications have been enhanced by the availability of serum collected at the time of surgery that enables accurate measurement of the hormonal milieu. In these studies, the likelihood of misclassification by menstrual cycle phase is reduced, and dependence on recalled menstrual history is eliminated. High progesterone levels have been associated with improved survival. These findings have encouraged some to suggest that perioperative administration of progesterone or tamoxifen (Nolvadex) may provide a preventive avenue comparable to scheduling surgery during the luteal phase. Further multidisciplinary studies are needed, however, to clarify the influence of the naturally occurring or medically induced hormonal milieu at the time of breast cancer surgery on survival in premenopausal women.     

Contribution of generalized negative affect to elevated menstrual cycle symptom reporting

We investigated women's belief that they suffered from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) by monitoring patterns of symptom reporting over a 5-week period in relation to the underlying trait of negative affect. We expected that women reporting high negative affect would be more likely to report menstrual cycle distress than those reporting low negative affect. One hundred twenty-one women rated the typical occurrence and severity of premenstrual changes on a retrospective questionnaire and then made daily ratings of their changes for the duration of one cycle. In addition, they completed a questionnaire measuring positive and negative affect. Data analysis revealed a clear subgroup whose retrospective reports of premenstrual change were not substantiated by the cycle of their daily ratings. Although this subgroup also reported more negative affect, the magnitude of the effect was relatively small. The possible contribution of both negative outlook and the meaning of the self-identified label of PMS are discussed.     

Does the menstrual cycle influence cystometry?

Alterations in the hormonal milieu associated with the menstrual cycle appear to influence the dynamic interaction between the bladder and urethra as well as detrusor function, probably because of the common embryological origin of the lower genital and urinary tracts. In this retrospective study we investigated the effect of the menstrual cycle on cystometric diagnosis. A retrospective case note review of 687 consecutive patients attending the urogynecology unit of St Georges University Hospital, a tertiary referral center, was carried out. The study group comprised 57 women with regular menstrual periods. In both patients whose symptoms were adversely affected premenstrually and those whose symptoms were not influenced by the menstrual cycle, the majority of normal cystometric diagnoses were made in the luteal phase: 45.5% vs. 25% (P < or = 0.002) and 38.5% vs. 4.8% (P < or = 0.05), respectively. Diagnoses of genuine stress incontinence, detrusor instability and mixed genuine stress incontinence and detrusor instability were most frequently made in the follicular phase of the cycle. More normal cystometric diagnoses were made in the influenced group (36.8%) than in the uninfluenced group (21%) (P < 0.02). The results of this preliminary study indicate that the timing of cystometric evaluation may influence the detection of a positive diagnosis. The luteal phase may not be the correct time to make an accurate diagnosis, especially in patients whose symptoms are influenced by their menstrual cycle.     

Spontaneous contractility and the response of the human uterine cervix to prostaglandins F2alpha and E2 during the menstrual cycle

The effect of prostaglandins E2 and F2alpha on the contractility of the uterine cervix was investigated in nonpregnant women throughout the menstrual cycle. PGF2alpha was found stimulatory to the cervix at all phases of the menstrual cycle, whereas PGE2 was inhibitory. The relaxing effect of PGE2 was most marked during midcycle.     

Tobacco withdrawal in women and menstrual cycle phase.

Because negative mood is a characteristic of both tobacco withdrawal and menstrual discomfort, withdrawal may vary by menstrual cycle phase. Tobacco withdrawal, mood, and menstrual discomfort were assessed in premenopausal women who quit smoking during either the follicular (Days 1–14 postmenstrual onset; n?=?41) or luteal (Day 15 or longer postmenstrual onset; n?=?37) phase of the menstrual cycle and maintained biochemically verified smoking abstinence during the postquit week. Women quitting during the luteal phase reported significantly greater increases in tobacco withdrawal and self-reported depressive symptoms than women quitting during the follicular phase. These results indicate that selecting a quit-smoking day early in the follicular phase may attenuate withdrawal and negative affect in premenopausal female smokers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)