Satisfação sexual: Como e para quê? Um estudo sobre diferenças de género nos determinantes e contributos da satisfação sexual

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Comportamentos sexuais e bem-estar no envelhecimento: Estudo exploratório numa amostra de mulheres

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Call recognition and individual identification of fish vocalizations based on automatic speech recognition: An example with the Lusitanian toadfish

The study of acoustic communication in animals often requires not only the recognition of species specific acoustic signals but also the identification of individual subjects, all in a complex acoustic background. Moreover, when very long recordings are to be analyzed, automatic recognition and identification processes are invaluable tools to extract the relevant biological information. A pattern recognition methodology based on hidden Markov models is presented inspired by successful results obtained in the most widely known and complex acoustical communication signal: human speech. This methodology was applied here for the first time to the detection and recognition of fish acoustic signals, specifically in a stream of round-the-clock recordings of Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) in their natural estuarine habitat. The results show that this methodology is able not only to detect the mating sounds (boatwhistles) but also to identify individual male toadfish, reaching an identification rate of ca. 95%. Moreover this method also proved to be a powerful tool to assess signal durations in large data sets. However, the system failed in recognizing other sound types.

Maladaptive defense mechanisms are associated with decoupling of testosterone from sexual desire in women of reproductive age

O presente artigo contém uma errata, disponível em: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15294145.2015.1108503

Poorer subjective sleep quality is related to higher fantasy-induced sexual arousal in women of reproductive age

Lack of sleep enhances erections and lubrication the next day. This raises the possibility that poorer subjective sleep quality is related to sexual arousal. To test this hypothesis, sexual arousal was elicited in 70 Portuguese women of reproductive age by means of fantasy. The level of salivary testosterone before and shortly after fantasy was determined by luminescence immunoassays. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), reported their sexual arousal before and during fantasy, and how anxious they were after the fantasy. The hypothesis was confirmed. Anxiety did not explain the association, but testosterone response (poststimulus minus baseline) had a slight explanatory effect.

Self-transcendence is related to higher female sexual desire

One facet of self-transcendence is creative self-forgetfulness (CSF; tendency to be attentionally absorbed in mindaltering experiences). Proneness to mind-altering attentional absorption and other aspects of self-transcendence were previously related to vaginal intercourse frequency, sexual arousability, and female coital orgasm. Given that sexual responsiveness is enhanced by focused attention, itwas testedwhether CSF correlates with sexual responsiveness, and if maladaptive defenses, openness to experience, and testosterone explain the hypothesized relationships. One hundred thirty-nine Portuguese (98 women) provided saliva samples for testosterone determination by luminescence immunoassays before and after a romantic movie scene and reported how intensely they felt sexual desire and arousal during the movie. CSF was measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory– Revised, maladaptive defenses by the immature defenses subscale of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), male and female past month desire by the desire dimensions of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Female desire and arousal during themoviewere independently predicted by CSF, openness to experience and testosterone, but not by immature defenses. Female past month desire was independently predicted by CSF, testosterone, and less immature defenses. Possible psychobiological processes linking self-transcendence and sexual responsiveness are discussed.