The course is designed to give the viewer working knowledge of drugs and substances that have been used in history as aphrodisiacs to enhance sexual arousal, desire, and orgasm, either directly or through a mechanism of disinhibition. This leads to an understanding of how both the autonomic and central nervous systems have evolved neurochemical circuits for sexual excitation (e.g., dopamine, melanocortins, and oxytocin) and inhibition (opioids and serotonin) which different classes of drugs and plant extracts can activate. Such knowledge has translated in recent history into clinical treatments for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, and into an understanding of how drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can induce anorgasmia. This information is put into a framework to help clinicians evaluate the potential efficacy of medications, recreational drugs, and herbal substances to either induce or treat sexual dysfunctions.
