Anxiety, stress and other psychological factors can be key in sexual dysfunction. Now, a study carried out by researchers from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London (UK) have identified a hormone that could serve as a means of effective treatment against psychosexual disorders . The hormone in question is called Kisspeptin (KP) and they have found that it increases activity in areas of the brain that are usually stimulated by sexual arousal and romantic love. It is the hormone that activates passion.
Psychosexual disorders are common among couples with infertility, who often experience stress and anxiety due to problems conceiving . Most infertility treatment methods focus on biological factors, but the role of the brain and emotional processing is also very important, the authors explain. In this field, an injection of the hormone kisspeptin could have the potential to treat psychosexual symptoms.
Previous studies have shown that kisspeptin, produced by the hypothalamus , is also present in other limbic regions of the brain, such as the amygdala, involved in emotional and reproductive behaviors.
For the research, the team set out to examine the role of kisspeptin in limbic regions of the brain. In particular, they wanted to determine whether the hormone influenced emotional behavior in response to sexual stimuli. The experiment involved 29 healthy young men who received an injection with kisspeptin or a placebo. After the injection, the participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which allowed their brain activity to be monitored, while viewing a selection of sexual and non-sexual images.
When viewing sexual images, there was an increase in activity in the brain regions that are usually stimulated by sexual arousal and love, only after the injection of kisspeptin, but not by the placebo.
The researchers say these findings indicate that kisspeptin improves behavioral circuits in the brain that are related to sex and romantic love: “Ultimately, we are interested in seeing if kisspeptin could be an effective treatment for psychosexual disorders, and helping countless couples struggling to conceive, “says Waljit Dhillo, leader of the work.
The study has been published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
