1392 



HORMONAL REGULATION OF BEHAVIOR 



of eroticism is unique in this series of pa- 

 tients and remains a puzzle without expla- 

 nation. 



Between the extremes of hypereroticism 

 and hypo-eroticism, the majority of the 

 patients showed a more moderate eroticism. 

 In the majority group, comprising 17 pa- 

 tients, 8 stated that they had fewer clitoral- 

 stump erections or that they masturbated 

 less frequently after cortisone treatment. 

 In the interviews with the other 9, no evi- 

 dence of change was obtained, but the pos- 

 sibility of change could not be retrospec- 

 tively excluded with certainty. 



None of the 21 patients gave evidence of 

 loss or change of sensitivity of erotic zones, 

 other than the clitoral, while their hormonal 

 feminization was maintained by cortisone 

 treatment, except that sporadically the 

 breasts were reported more sensitive. It is 

 noteworthy that none reported a post- 

 treatment cessation of erotic sensitivity in 

 the clitoral zone — only of erectile autonomy 

 and hypersensitivity of the clitoris, or of 

 its amputated stump. What they lost, there- 

 fore, was that autonomous initiatory eroti- 

 cism of the phallus which seems to be so 

 basic in the eroticism of men. The women 

 were all unequivocally pleased to be re- 

 lieved of clitoral hypersensitivity; it was 

 the pleasure of being able to feel like a 

 normal woman, several of them explained. 

 In some cases, the clitoris had been ampu- 

 tated in early childhood. Only one of the 

 older patients elected against, and none 

 regretted a decision in favor of this feminiz- 

 ing surgical procedure. 



H. EROTICISM IN PRECOCIOUS PUBERTY 



An unusual group of children of special 

 interest in the study of childhood eroticism 

 are those with precocious puberty. In chil- 

 dren with this diagnosis, the sex hormones 

 function prematurely in relation to the 

 scope and maturity of cognitional function- 

 ing as well as to the variety and extent of 

 learning and behavior (Doe-Kulmann and 

 Stone, 1927; Keene and Stone, 1937; Wer- 

 ner, Spector, Vitt, Ross and Anderson, 

 1942). 



In sexual precocity of the idiopathic type, 

 the children are anatomically and physio- 

 logically normal in all respects except that 



the pubertal alarm clock has, so to speak, 

 sounded too early. With respect to the 25 

 children with idiopathic sexual precocity 

 (Table 22.1), it can only be said that they 

 showed the same range of variation between 

 sexual expression — childhood sex play and 

 masturbation — and sexual inhibition and 

 self-discipline as one might ordinarily find 

 in a randomly assembled group of sexually 

 immature children matched for age and 

 social background. At least, it would be 

 very easy to find nonprecocious children 

 with matching sexual behavior. The fre- 

 quency of masturbation seemed increased in 

 some of the boys with idiopathic sexual 

 precocity, as a direct function of their abil- 

 ity to ejaculate. Others who did not mas- 

 turbate had sleep emissions. In none of the 

 children did premature hormonal function, 

 ipso facto, lead to premature attempts at 

 mating. As in normal children, the latter 

 appears only when it is encouraged by 

 social experiences and opportunities to 

 learn.» 



V. Cognitional Rehearsals 



A. DEFINITION 



Erotic thought and imagery, fantasies and 

 dreams, may all be referred to, for want of 

 a better generic term, as cognitional re- 

 hearsals. They may be on-the-spot re- 

 sponses to perceptual images-^sights, 

 sounds, smells, touches, tastes — pertaining 

 to sex. The sexy blonde and the lecherous 

 thoughts of boys on the corner as she 

 l)asses are a stereotyped example. Verbal 

 or graphic reports at second hand may be 



"A recent report (Gerall, 1958) containing a re- 

 view of the relevant literature is of interest for 

 the point made in this section. In the guinea pig, 

 but not in the rat, the administration of testoster- 

 one propionate to castrated young animals did not 

 advance the appearance of the copulatory pattern 

 or ejaculatory response. In both species injections 

 of te.stosterone propionate produced greater than 

 normal weights of the seminal vesicles, prostate, 

 and coagulating gland. On the other hand, a dif- 

 ference between the species is reflected in the 

 amount of secretory activity. The level of fructose 

 and citric acid in the prostate gland and seminal 

 vesicles of rats injected with testosterone pro- 

 pionate was several times greater than that in 

 normal rats. In the guinea pig testosterone pro- 

 pionate did not produce precocious secretion of 

 these substances. 



