Because sex matters: The case of female sexual response

Abstract

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration approved two drugs for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women which have been tested in preclinical tests with positive effects on some appetitive sexual behavior in female rats. Some years after their commercial release, the effectiveness of both drugs in women is not clear. In the present chapter, we present some considerations regarding preclinical studies of copulatory behavior, most of them conducted in female rats. Although knowledge of the neurobiological basis of copulatory behavior in the female rat is still growing, the extent to which these findings might be applied to women’s sexuality is unknown. On the other hand, sexual response in women is flexible and less hormone-dependent compared with men. Moreover, sociocultural factors deeply influence sexuality in women, and they might contribute to the development of sexual dysfunctions. Additionally, the kind of model that better describes sexual response in women seems to be individual and fluctuating. We briefly mentioned some of the most used methods for measuring genital arousal, putting out the need for developing better strategies to get objective and replicable results. We conclude that the contribution, if any, of animal models of sexual response in female rodents is modest. After the questionable approval and the lack of efficacy of drugs to treat sexual desire issues, it is necessary to realize that the more we understand the female sexual responses, developing better ways to evaluate them, the more we might explain, and eventually treat their dysfunctions.