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Penile plethysmography (PPG) is the primary physiologic assessment method used to gauge sexual responses in adult men. Depending on the country or jurisdiction of assessment, stimuli used to elicit arousal can include videos, still images, and audio materials. It can depict a variety consenting and non-consenting sexual scenarios as well as neutral, non-sexual scenarios. Models in visual stimuli can be clothed, semi-clothed, or nude. Variation in stimuli modality and the type of sexual interest being tested can have a large impact on PPG outcomes. This paper reviews research on types of PPG stimuli, the different sexual interests being assessed, reliability and validity, and the impact of anonymizing models depicted in assessment materials. Innovations in stimuli development in three labs located in Canada, the United States, and the Czech Republic are also discussed. The work done in these three labs and the broader range of research on assessment stimuli are presented to highlight the need for a unified, multi-site, standardized approach to assess problematic sexual interests and their change in response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penile plethysmography ( PPG) is an objective measure of sexual arousal for men, commonly used to assess sexual arousal to both abnormal (i.e., paraphilic) and normal stimuli. While PPG has become a standard measure in the assessment and treatment of male sex offenders and men with paraphilic interests in both Canada and the United States, there is a lack of standardization of stimulus sets and interpretation of results between sites. The current article critically reviews the current state of the art while highlighting clinical and research efforts that may be undertaken in an attempt to reduce issues arising from lack of standardization across sites. Types and themes of stimulus sets, assessment apparatuses, laboratory preparation, and testing procedures are discussed. The continued development of standardized testing protocol and procedures across multiple international sites continues to be encouraged to promote unified PPG administration and interpretation, thus further enhancing the practical utility of the measurements and decreasing inter-rater discrepancies and error. Murphy L, Ranger R, Fedoroff JP, Stewart H, Dwyer RG, and Burke W. Standardization of penile plethysmography testing in assessment of problematic sexual interests. J Sex Med 2015;12:1853-1861. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reproductive biology of the bat Pipistrellus hesperus was investigated histologically using animals obtained from nature at monthly intervals throughout the year. The female shows proestrous morphological changes in late summer and autumn, which continue until early spring. Insemination is probably effected several times during proestrous, since both sexes are intermittently active throughout this period (August--April). Permanent arousal from torpor and return to normal metabolism in the spring results in ovulation. Both ovaries are functional and both uterine horns may be utilized. P. hesperus is monestrous; two young per bat is usual. The male spermatogenic cycle is initiated in late June and the first sperm are available for ejaculation in September. Some sperm remain in the seminiferous tubules until early March. The epididymides also serve in sperm storage with the caput emptied by late February and the cauda in April. Leydig cells are largely nonsecretory from March through July, a few are secretory in August and most are secretory in September and October. Active cells gradually decline in number until few are secretory in late March. Accessory sex glands are functionally cyclic: they are small from April through August, hypertrophy in September, and gradually involute to the resting stage through March, to achieve total involution in April. The penis, similar in structure to that of other vespertilionids, is thought specialized to insure effective insemination.