Hypoactive Sexual Desire Due to Mental and Neurological Disorders

The article presents data on hypoactive sexual desire which occurs in neurotic and stress-related disorders (neurasthenia, anxiety-phobic and obsessive-compulsive disorders, including the syndrome of anxious expectation of sexual failure, dissociative disorders, adaptation disorders [prolonged depressive reaction, anxiety-depressive reaction]). In particular, characterizing sexual disorders in patients with neurasthenia, one group of authors believes that these disorders differ depending on the form of this disease (hypersthenic, hyposthenic). In their opinion, in the hypersthenic form increased excitability of the sexual sphere is observed which can lead to the appearance of various sexual disorders, including increased libido. In the hyposthenic form of neurasthenia, according to this group of authors, various hypoactive sexual manifestations can be noted, including a decrease in libido, and in addition, premature ejaculation. Another group of researchers found in patients with neurasthenia, regardless of its form, only hypofunctional sexological manifestations, as well as premature ejaculation (that is, those symptoms that were named by the first group of authors as characteristic of the hyposthenic form of neurasthenia). The article also presents data on hypoactive sexual desire which can be observed in personality disorders and character accentuations (schizoid personality disorder and character schizoid accentuation, accentuations of the cycloid, asthenoneurotic, hysteroid, unstable, psychasthenic, sensitive and infantile-dependent types); mood disorders [affective disorders] (dysthymia [depressive neurosis], bipolar disorder); schizophrenia; mental retardations; dementia due to organic brain damages; epilepsy; organic brain damages; multiple sclerosis. Clinical observations are given; these concern hypoactive sexual desire in patients with schizophrenia and organic brain damage