PROSEXUAL DRUGS - EMPIRICAL STATUS OF THE NEW APHRODISIACS

The search for an effective aphrodisiac has been a perennial pursuit o f most societies throughout history. In the past decade, attention has focused increasingly on the prosexual effects of oral pharmacological agents with central neurotransmitter actions. The role of various dop aminergic, adrenergic, and serotonergic agents, in particular, has bee n intensively investigated in both human and animal studies. Some of t hese drugs have been considered for their potential role in the treatm ent of sexual dysfunction, while others have contributed to our unders tanding of basic neurophysiological processes in sexual arousal. This review provides a critical evaluation of current laboratory and clinic al research on the ''new aphrodisiacs, '' including studies in both pa tient populations and normal volunteers. Several conceptual and method ological problems are addressed, such as the definition and measuremen t of sexual response, the need to separate specific and nonspecific dr ug effects on sexual response, and the lack of studies in women. Altho ugh no single drug has proven to be clinically safe and reliably effec tive for human use, several promising candidates have been identified. Overall, research on prosexual drugs has contributed significantly to our understanding of basic mechanisms in sexual response, as well as providing new treatment options for common sexual disorders.