I. Introduction to human sexual responseA.Definition of sexual arousalB.Differentiation between cognitive and reflex erectionC.Models of sexual response patternsD.Introduction to the central and peripheral nervous systemsE.General introduction to brain areas activated during arousalF. Gender differences and why we are only considering boysII. Information processing of sexual stimuli (1st component of the sexual response)A.Detection of sexually salient stimuliIII. Mechanisms of increasing general arousal (2nd component)A.Locus coeruleus/noradrenalineB.Studies of the transfer of general arousal to sexual arousalIV. Motivational processing (3rd component)A.Developmental and genetic considerationsB.Incentive valuesC.Neural correlates of motivational processing (intro: amygdala, ACC)D.Hierarchical levels of motivational controlli. Introduction to levels of controlii. Low level control (mesolimbic)iii. High-level control (prefrontal)V. Inhibitory processes of sexual arousalA.. Bancroft's dual control modelB. Definition of inhibition: goal-directed, aversion-related and neurotransmitterC. Neural correlates of inhibitionD. Neurotransmitters involved in inhibitioni. Serotoninii.GABAiii. Opioidsiv. Prolactinv. Vasopressinvi. Neuropeptidesvii. Stress and anxietyE. Summary of neurotransmitters involved in sexual responseVI. Genital processes (4th component)A. Note on reflexive erectionsB. Supraspinal/central actionsi. Hypothalamic pathwaysC. Androgens and estrogens. Testosteroneii. Estrogensiii. Balance between these steroidsD. Peripheral actionssi. Nerves innervating the penisii. Description of the ANSiii. Sympathetic nervous system ... middle of paper ...... in penile tissue, both directly mediated by parasympathetic afferents. The dilation and relaxation of these areas causes the usually flaccid internal pudendal arteries to fill with blood while venous flow remains constant, causing more blood to enter the penis than comes out. This increasing pressure causes the penis to enlarge and extend, with the erection maintained by the bulbocavernosus and ischiocavernosus muscles. Ascending genital sensory input also plays an important role in central processing and erection initiation and sexual arousal. Areas that receive afferents from the penis include the caudal thalamic intralaminar nuclei (Heath, 1964), which constitute the terminal point of this pathway, and the medullary reticular formation (Hubscher & Johnson, 1996), the hypothalamus (Wersinger et al. , 1993). , and periaqueductal gray (Steer, 2000) along the way.