title: PET supports the hypothesized existence of a male sexual brain algorithm that may respond to treatment combining psychotherapy with virtual reality.
abstract: Could a brain circuit exist, verifiable using positron emission tomography (PET), that links coitus and its dysfunctions, such as impotence? Could re-establishing normal sexual functioning be linked with the normalization of some sort of altered brain metabolism utilizing a therapeutic project that uses psychodynamic psychotherapy integrating virtual reality (VR)? A Brain PET Scan and a self-administered sexual activity questionnaire were given to 11 heterosexual patients affected by impotence due to psychological causes, both before and approximately 6 months after a cycle of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Seven randomly-selected patients received psychotherapy with VR technology using the Optale Method. PET data, used to indicate glucose consumption in various brain areas, were compared with data from normal patients, and a statistical analysis was run. Alterations in cerebral metabolic functioning were displayed in the following areas: frontal cortex, nucleus caudatus, and thalamus. The seven patients who received psychotherapy with VR technology "normalized" in these same areas and attained satisfactory sexual performance. The existence of a male sex algorithm may be hypothesized that links the frontal cortex, nucleus caudatus, and thalamus, and explains its action on cortical motor areas and/or on the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus, which may respond to treatment combining psychotherapy with VR.
authors.affiliation: Association for Research in Sexology, Venice, Italy. optale@tin.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Optale
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chierichetti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Munari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pianon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viggiano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferlin