Section of Sexual Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Strasse 12, Kiel, Germany.
Int J Impot Res. 2010 May-Jun;22(3):171-8. doi: 10.1038/ijir.2010.5. Epub 2010 Mar 25.
The aim of this study was to elucidate the relation between electrical activity in the corpus cavernosum (CC), penile responses and brain processes. EEG potentials, penile circumference and electrical activity of the CC (CC-EMG) were recorded simultaneously while male subjects were exposed to visual sexual stimuli. The trials were sorted by the penile response of the subjects (erection, maintenance or detumescence). The corresponding EEG recordings were subjected to independent component analysis (ICA) and then correlated with CC activity. We found that CC activity was decreased in the case of erection. EEG activity was found to be correlated with CC activity in most cases at the same instant or with subsequent CC activity. EEG activity at early time points after stimulus onset (<300 ms) was found to be correlated with CC activity, indicating penile response preparation at a pre-attentive processing level. These data indicate that (i) CC activity is under the control of brain processing and (ii) autonomous input reaches the CC in fractions of a second after sexual stimulus onset. Our experimental paradigm should be used for the study of psychogenic erectile dysfunctions and could help in the development of an objective measurement of this disturbance.
本研究旨在阐明海绵体（CC）电活动、阴茎反应和大脑过程之间的关系。当男性受检者暴露于视觉性刺激时，同步记录脑电图（EEG）电位、阴茎周长和 CC 的电活动（CC-EMG）。根据受检者的阴茎反应（勃起、维持或消退）对试验进行分类。对相应的 EEG 记录进行独立成分分析（ICA），然后与 CC 活动相关联。我们发现勃起时 CC 活动减少。在大多数情况下，EEG 活动与 CC 活动在同一时刻或随后的 CC 活动相关联。在刺激开始后早期时间点（<300ms）发现 EEG 活动与 CC 活动相关联，表明在非注意处理水平上准备阴茎反应。这些数据表明：（i）CC 活动受大脑处理的控制；（ii）自主传入在性刺激开始后几分之一秒内到达 CC。我们的实验方案应用于研究心因性勃起功能障碍，并有助于开发对此障碍的客观测量。
