Women's sexual arousal concurrently assessed by three genital measures

Abstract

The relationship among three objective measures of genital vasocongestion in women was evaluated both during and after an erotic film using simultaneous recording of both vaginal pressure pulse and vaginal blood volume responses by means of photoplethysmography and of labial temperature change by means of a thermistor clip. During the film each of the genital measures increased for most subjects, resulting in highly significant positive correlations between measures. However, following the erotic film presentation there was considerably less direct correspondence among the three measures; although the genital reactions of most subjects subsided to some extent following the film, none of the three measures consistently returned to prestimulation levels. Periodic estimates of subjective levels of sexual arousal were significantly correlated with each of the genital measures during the erotic film but were not significantly correlated with any after the film.