Extinction and Renewal of Conditioned Sexual Responses : A study on extinction and renewal in appetitive sexual conditioning in healthy volunteers

The purpose of this study is to investigate basal sexual learning mechanisms
among healthy males and females. This study will investigate how stimuli
acquire or lose sexually rewarding properties. This knowledge may help in the
treatment of sexual motivation disorders such as too little or excessive sexual
desire. Generally, it is assumed that in these disorders sexual reward learning
by classical conditioning plays an essential role. In humans, however,
experimental research on sexual reward learning is scarce. In this research,
basic phenomena such as extinction and renewal in sexual conditioning will be
studied in humans.
We suppose that repeated associations between a neutral stimulus and sexual
stimulation results, through classical conditioning, in a learned appetitive
sexual response to this stimulus. Following conditioning, the stimulus can be
repeatedly presented without the unconditional stimulus (e.g. the sexual
stimulation) to study extinction of the conditioned response. Nevertheless, an
extinction procedure may not erase the original learned association. Retention
of the original association has been uncovered following extinction by a
variety of factors including context change (renewal). Despite convincing
evidence of renewal effects in anxiety and fear, literature on renewal of
sexual responses is completely lacking.

The aim of the study is: To investigate extinction and renewal of conditioned
genital and subjective sexual responses in healthy sexually functional men and
women.

Hypothesis: Pairing of a neutral stimulus to a sexually appetitive tactile
stimulus (genital vibrostimulation) will result in conditioned genital and
subjective sexual responses Conditioned responses will disappear by the end of
the extinction phase in both groups, but a renewed responses will be observed
to the CS+ for the ABA group because of context switch.

To investigate extinction and renewal of conditioned sexual response
systematically, in this study extinction and renewal of genital and subjective
sexual arousal will be studied in men and women in a differential conditioning
experiment. Extinction and renewal of the conditioned response will be studied
by inclusion of a series of extinction trials and by manipulating context.
Participants will be randomly assigned to the two context groups. Using
different lighting conditions in one and the same room, context is manipulated.
In both context groups (AAA and ABA; N=2X60) two neutral pictures will serve as
conditional stimuli (CSs) and genital vibrotactile stimulation as the
unconditional stimulus (US). Only one CS (the CS+) will be followed by the US
during the acquisition phase. One group receives extinction in the same context
in which acquisition took place (AAA-group), whereas the other group receives
extinction in a different context (ABA-group). Following extinction, a test
phase follows, in which the stimuli are presented in their original acquisition
context.
During the pre-conditioning, acquisition, extinction and test (*renewal*) phase
subjects will view the CSs repeatedly, while genital sexual arousal is assessed
as vaginal pulse amplitude using vaginal photoplethysmography in women and as
penile circumference using an indium-gallium gauge in men. Expectancy ratings
and ratings of emotional valence and subjective sexual arousal are collected
during the pre-conditioning, extinction and renewal phase. Following
extinction, all participants are presented with both stimuli in their original
acquisition context, upon it is expected to observe a renewed difference
between CS types for the ABA group because of context switch. Since affect
ratings are susceptible to demand characteristics, in addition to affect
ratings a stimulus response compatibility task will be included to assess
automatic approach and avoidance tendency towards the CS.

The visit to the LUMC will take approximately 2 hours. There are no risks
associated with participation in this study.