P50 sensory gating in patients with vaginismus

Objective: P50 sensory gating was investigated in patients with primary vaginismus (PV) with the hypothesis that interpreting coping capacities as a stress factor during sexual intercourse by perceiving unrelated stimuli and an impairment of the sensory information processing may be associated with fear/anxiety related to a possible pain in vulvovagina. Methods: A total of 35 patients who were diagnosed with PV and 29 healthy volunteers matched for age and gender underwent P50 recording in the neurophysiology laboratory and the results were compared. Results: The PV group's P50 gating ratio and S1 amplitude were statistically significantly lower than in the control group. Conclusion: Sensory gating is required for filtering the stimuli coming to the brain and developing an appropriate behavioral response. The reduced formation of an appropriate behavioral response in the PV group can lead to a perception of excessive and unrelated stimuli coming from internal and external environments and interpreting these as a stress factor exceeding the capacity to cope. Our study is the first to evaluate sensory gating in PV patients and new studies with larger patient groups are required. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2015; 16(4.000): 264-269]