Guest editorial: Pharmacology of female sexual behavior

Abstract

Female sexual behavior has been studied over the last decades from many perspectives, e.g. biological function, endocrinology and brain mechanisms, but is has never developed into a big research area. However, in the last decade an increasing interest in dysfunctional sexual behavior inwomen has emerged including search for potential pharmacological treatment of various sexual dysfunctions. Low sexual desire is the most common sexual complaint in women that suffer from sexual dissatisfaction and negative effects on daily quality of life. Remarkably, no drugs treating such ‘sexual dysfunctions’ are available, although some interesting developments are underway. It seems timely to report on a newresearch area, the pharmacology of female sexual behavior, as knowledge of mechanisms in the brain involved in all aspects of sexual functioning is remarkablymeager. Ifwewant to be successful in the discovery and development ofmuch needed therapeutic drugs, fundamental insight in all these processes is needed. The present special issue reflects some of the translational research in the field and clearly illustrates the need for more research.