Sexual effects of commonly used recreational psychostimulants in women and the female rat model.

Recreational psychostimulants produce inconsistent sexual effects in women. Amphetamine and methamphetamine generally enhance sexual function, but studies are small. MDMA may either increase or decrease sexual activity while often enhancing sensual aspects. Low doses of cocaine can heighten sexual experience, but most women report negative effects. Caffeine increases vaginal blood flow, but subjective sexual effects have not been studied. More research is needed to understand these varying effects.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Recreational psychostimulants have been associated with increased sexual activity or changes in sexual function in women, but every drug in this class has not shown consistent sexual effects in scientific studies. Further, some studies in female animal models may recapitulate the effects observed in humans, while others produce conflicting results. Overall, though, published studies on the sexual effects of recreational stimulants in women are lacking. The objective of this manuscript was to review the published sexual effects of prominent recreational psychostimulants in women and in the female rat model. Literature searches for "any years" were performed through PubMed and Google Scholar. Keywords for the searches included "amphetamine," "methamphetamine," "MDMA," "ecstasy," "3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine," "cocaine," "caffeine," "sex," "sexual," "female," and "women." Studies in humans and using animal models were included. Older studies have shown that amphetamine produces a positive sexual effect in women, but often the sample size was too small to draw generalizable conclusions. Methamphetamine also has a positive effect on several sexual domains in women, as well as on vaginal lubrication. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine may have a negative or positive effect on sexual activity, but often enhances the sensual aspects of sex. Though low doses of cocaine may heighten the sexual experience, most women who use cocaine experience negative sexual effects. Caffeine has been shown to enhance a physiological measure of arousal, vaginal blood flow, but based on our searches, no studies have investigated the subjective sexual effects of the drug. Different recreational psychostimulants produce varying effects on sexual behavior and responses in women and female animal models, but more research is needed to understand these effects better.