Browsing by Author "Costa, Rui Miguel"
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- Altered states of consciousness are related to higher sexual responsivenessPublication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Pestana, José Antonio Melo; Costa, David; Wittmann, MarcAltered states of consciousness lead to profound changes in the sense of self, time and space. We assessed how these changes were related to sexual responsiveness during sex. 116 subjects reported (a) intensity of awareness concerning body, space and time, and (b) satisfaction, desire, arousal, and orgasm occurrence. We differentiated vaginal intercourse orgasm from noncoital orgasm. Female vaginal intercourse orgasm was further differentiated as with or without concurrent clitoral masturbation. Overall, sexual responsiveness was related to greater body awareness and lesser time and space awareness. Satisfaction, desire, and arousal were especially associated with less time awareness in women. Female orgasms during vaginal intercourse were related to greater body awareness and lesser time awareness, but noncoital orgasms were unrelated. Our findings provide empirical support for the hypotheses that altered states of consciousness with attentional absorption are strongly related to sexual responsiveness in women, and to a lesser extent in men.
- Anxious and avoidant attachment, vibrator use, anal sex, and impaired vaginal orgasmPublication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Brody, StuartIntroduction. Disturbances in intimate relationships are among the risk factors for female sexual dysfunction. Insecure styles of anxious attachment (preoccupations about abandonment) and avoidant attachment (avoidance of closeness in relationships) are robustly associated with sexual problems, relationship difficulties, and several indices of poorer physical and mental health. Similar indices of poorer sexual, relationship, and health functioning are associated with impairment of orgasm triggered by penile-vaginal stimulation (vaginal orgasm), but unrelated or related to greater frequency of other sexual behaviors. However, research examining the differential association of sexual activities with insecure attachment styles has been lacking. Aims. The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that insecure attachment styles are associated with lesser vaginal orgasm consistency, and are unrelated or directly related to greater frequency of other sexual behaviors. Method. Seventy coitally experienced women recruited at a Scottish university completed the Revised Experience in Close Relationships scale, and reported their frequency of various sexual behaviors (and corresponding orgasms) in a recent representative month. Main Outcome Measures. The main outcome measures for this study are multivariate correlations of various sexual activities with insecure attachment styles, age, and social desirability response bias. Results. Anxious attachment was associated with lesser vaginal orgasm consistency, but with higher frequency of vibrator and anal sex orgasms. Avoidant attachment was associated with higher frequency of vibrator orgasms. Neither anxious nor avoidant attachment was associated with lifetime number of penile-vaginal intercourse partners. Conclusions. The results provide evidence that inability to attain a vaginal orgasm is associated with anxious attachment, among other indices of poorer mental health and relatedness. Vaginal orgasm might be the relevant sexual activity for the maintenance of a secure attachment style with a sexual partner and/or more insecurely attached women might have difficulties in attaining vaginal orgasms and be more inclined to sexual activities characterized by more emotional and physical detachment, as part of a characterological discomfort with intimacy.
- Associations of immature defense mechanisms with personal importance of junk food, television and alcohol are independent of agePublication . Brody, Stuart; Costa, Rui MiguelInexistente
- COPAHS Study: protocol of a randomised experimental study comparing the effects of hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and spiritual practices on experimental pain in healthy adultsPublication . Ferreira-Valente, Maria Alexandra; Pimenta, Filipa; Costa, Rui Miguel; Day, Melissa; Pais-Ribeiro, José; Jensen, Mark P.There has been an increasing interest in studying the potential benefits of so-called complementary and alternative approaches for pain management, such as hypnosis and mindfulness-based interventions. More recently, researchers have been interested in studying the effects of spiritual practices on pain experience as well. These practices may increase pain tolerance, result in a positive re-appraisal of pain and influence other psychological variables that are known to be associated with pain experience. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the immediate effects of self-hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and a spiritual intervention relative to a control condition for increasing pain tolerance and reducing pain intensity and pain-related stress, in response to experimental painful stimulation.
- D-Track—A semi-automatic 3D video-tracking technique to analyse movements and routines of aquatic animals with application to captive dolphinsPublication . Lopes, Patrícia Rachinas; Ribeiro, Ricardo; Santos, Manuel Eduardo dos; Costa, Rui MiguelScoring and tracking animal movements manually is a time consuming and subjective process, susceptible to errors due to fatigue. Automated and semi-automated video-based tracking methods have been developed to overcome the errors and biases of manual analyses. In this manuscript we present D-Track, an open-source semi-automatic tracking system able to quantify the 3D trajectories of dolphins, non-invasively, in the water. This software produces a three-dimensional reconstruction of the pool and tracks the animal at different depths, using standard cameras. D-Track allows the determination of spatial preferences of the animals, their speed and its variations, and the identification of behavioural routines. We tested the system with two captive dolphins during different periods of the day. Both animals spent around 85% of the time at the surface of the Deep Area of their pool (5-meters depth). Both dolphins showed a stable average speed throughout 31 sessions, with slow speeds predominant (maximum 1.7 ms-1). Circular swimming was highly variable, with significant differences in the size and duration of the "circles", between animals, within-animals and across sessions. The D-Track system is a novel tool to study the behaviour of aquatic animals, and it represents a convenient and inexpensive solution for laboratories and marine parks to monitor the preferences and routines of their animals.
- Dependência das redes sociais : qual o impacto na autoestima e manipulação de fotografias?Publication . Sobral, Patrícia; Patrao, Ivone; Costa, Rui Miguel
- Do psychosocial factors moderate the relation between testosterone and female sexual desire? The Role of Interoception, Alexithymia, Defense Mechanisms, and Relationship StatusPublication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Oliveira, Gonçalo A.; Pestana, José António Melo; Costa, David; Oliveira, Rui FilipeObjectives Low sexual desire is a common complaint among women in the reproductive years. There is controversy regarding the relationship between testosterone (T) and female desire, but there is also lack of research on moderators. Lack of awareness of effects of T on emotions and bodily sensations might interfere with the subjective experience of desire. Moreover, T appears to be more important for searching and competing for partners than for long-term pair bonding. Therefore, we examined if interoception, alexithymia, maladaptive psychological defenses, and relationship status, moderated the relationship between salivary T and female desire. Methods One hundred sixty eight Portuguese women of reproductive age completed the desire dimension of the Female Sexual Function Index, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40). Interoception was determined by a heartbeat detection task. Participants reported if they had a regular sexual partner. Luminescence immunoassays were used to determine salivary T. Results Three multiple regressions models revealed that, among unpartnered women, higher desire was predicted by the combinations of 1) higher T and lesser alexithymia, 2) higher T and less use of maladaptive defenses, 3) higher T and greater interoception. For partnered women, neither T nor the interactions of T with indices of emotional and bodily awareness predicted desire. Conclusions These findings provide preliminary evidence that T is more important for the desire of unpartnered women, and that lack of conscious awareness of emotions and bodily sensations interferes with the effects of T on the subjective experience of desire.
- Does personality moderate the link between women’s testosterone and relationship status? The role of extraversion and sensation seekingPublication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Correia, Mónica; Oliveira, Rui FilipeResearch shows that testosterone (T) is lower among partnered women, but not for women with a more unrestricted sociosexuality. There are fundamental personality traits, which are indices of mating effort and might moderate the association between T and relationship status. Two such traits are extraversion (E) and sensation seeking (SS). The present study tests if E and SS moderate the association of women’s T with relationship status and parental care. Seventy-three Portuguese women completed a short form of the NEO-FFI and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V). Salivary T was assayed using luminescence immunoassays. Being involved in a committed relationship was related to lower T for the total sample, and for the subgroups low in E and SS, but not for the subgroups high in E and SS. Parental care was related to lower T in the subgroup low in E, and marginally in the subgroup low in SS. In multivariate analyses, only relationship status predicted T in the total sample and in the subgroups low in E and SS. The results were not confounded by age and oral contraception. These results provide support for lower T being important for monogamous pair bonding rather than for being partnered per se.
- Female sexual function and heart rate variabilityPublication . Costa, Rui Miguel; Brody, StuartInexistente
- Frequência sexual e variabilidade da frequência cardíaca numa amostra não-clínica : resultados preliminaresPublication . Gomes, Sabrina; Costa, Rui Miguel; Mangia, Paula Galvão; Pestana, José; Coelho, Mafalda Pinto; Correia, CatarinaResumo: Maior frequência coital tem-se associado a maior desvio padrão da frequência cardíaca, um parâmetro da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca (VFC) que pode expressar maior actividade simpática e parassimpática. No presente estudo examinaram-se associações de diversos parâmetros da VFC com a satisfação sexual e a frequência de vários comportamentos sexuais. Sessenta homens e 85 mulheres relataram a sua satisfação sexual com a respectiva subescala da LiSat (Life Satisfaction) scale e qual a frequência em dias no mês precedente de coito vaginal, sexo não coital e masturbação. Os parâmetros da VFC foram calculados a partir de cinco minutos de ECG em repouso (desvio padrão da frequência cardíaca, desvio padrão dos intervalos entre batidas cardíacas, potência de alta frequência, potência de baixa frequência e razão entre baixa e alta frequência). A frequência coital associou-se a maior desvio padrão da frequência cardíaca na amostra feminina, mas não na masculina. A frequência coital não se correlacionou com nenhum outro parâmetro da VFC. A satisfação sexual não se correlacionou com nenhum parâmetro da VFC. A frequência coital poderá ser facilitada por maior actividade parassimpática a par duma moderadamente elevada actividade simpática cardíaca.