Thermal Imaging as a Physiological Measure of Sexual Arousal in Men.

Thermal Imaging as a Physiological Measure of Sexual Arousal in Men, Tuuli M. Kukkonen, Yitchak M. Binik, and Serge Cartier, McGill University 

Recent technological advances in thermal imaging have made it possible to monitor genital temperature unobtrusively and reliably under conditions of sexual arousal. We evaluated whether thermal imaging can be used as a tool to measure physiological sexual arousal in men. Twenty-eight healthy men viewed a neutral film clip after which they were randomly assigned to view one of three videos: another neutral (n = 9), a humor (n = 9), or a sexually explicit film (n = 10). Penile temperature was remotely recorded during the viewing of the films using a TSA ImagIR thermal imaging system (Thermogenic Imaging, North Billetica, MA). Subjective measures of sexual arousal, humor, and relaxation were also taken at the outset of the experiment and after each film. Each film had the desired subjective effects. Tukey HSD post-hoc comparisons found that men viewing the sexually arousing video showed significantly greater peak temperatures on the shaft than men in the humor or neutral conditions. Furthermore, penile temperature on the shaft was correlated with subjective ratings of overall sexual arousal. Thermal imaging is non-invasive, easy to use, and provides a constant measure of temperature in men. Such measurement might also be useful in the assessment of sexual arousal in women and in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of sexual dysfunctions.