Guest editorial: Pharmacology of female sexual behavior

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.