P-02-006 The roles of tactile and olfactory sensory inputs on sexual desire and performance

A specialized class of unmyelinated nerve fibers in human hairy skin – the so-called C-tactile afferents – is known to play an important role in the perception of pleasant sensations in human-to-human caressing touch as well as in the perception of erotic touch. The sense of smell is also important in human intimate relationships with significant contributions to social behavior through mate choice and empathic functioning. In an explorative study, we investigated the relation between individual sensitivity to stimulation of these primary senses and levels of sexual desire and performance in young, healthy individuals. Seventy volunteers (28 male, 42 female; mean age 24.84 ± 4.08 years SD, range from 18 to 36 years) participated in a standardized and controlled tactile experiment that applied stroking stimuli with different velocities (C-tactile stimulation optimal: 1, 3 and 10 cm/s; C-tactile stimulation suboptimal: 0,1, 0,3 and 30 cm/s) and rated the perceived pleasantness, eroticism and intensity of those stimuli on visual analogue scales. Further, odor threshold was assessed using the “Sniffin’ Sticks”. All participants additionally responded to a battery of questions on sexual desire (SDI Sexual Desire Inventory), sexual pleasure (orgasm frequency, perceived pleasantness of sexual activities on a VAS) as well as sexual behaviour (stating the number of sexual partners, frequency of having sex, average duration of sexual intercourse).