Sympathetic skin responses and psychogenic erections in spinal cord injured men

Abstract

Sympathetic skin responses (SSR) are a simple procedure to investigate sympathetic activity. More specifically, SSR elicited from median nerve stimulation and recorded from the feet and genitals assess sympathetic activity resulting from thoracic-lumbar (TL) innervation. Since TL innervation is also involved in the mediation of psychogenic erection in spinal cord injured men, this study investigated the relationship between SSR and psychogenic erection in spinal cord injured subjects. The results support a general association between SSR and psychogenic erection and show that subjects who maintain SSR responses in the feet and genitals generally maintain psychogenic erections as well. Inconsistent cases are discussed from a theoretical and clinical perspective and overall results are discussed in terms of their clinical application in the evaluation of sexual function in spinal cord injured men.