Pilot Study on EEG and Behavioral Effects of Two Different Treatments on Sexual Life (Seteb)

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire Female Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire (Filocamo et al., 2014). 19 questions with 6 choices each. No maximum or minimum score defined. The experimenter evaluates the changes across sessions. This will be aggregated to other outcomes using factor analysis

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire MSHQ- (The Male Sexual Health Questionnaire). Questionnaire on male sexual health (Ugolini, & Pescatori, 2005). 25 questions with 5 or 6 choices each. No maximum or minimum score defined. The experimenter evaluates the changes across sessions. This will be aggregated to other outcomes using factor analysis

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire IIEF5- (International Index of Erectile Function). Questionnaire aimed at calculating the International Index of Erectile Function (Rosen et al., 1997). 5 questions with scores 1 to 5. Outcome range 5-25. Lower scores indicate poorer outcomes. This will be aggregated to other outcomes using factor analysis

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire MSISQ-15 (Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire). Questionnaire on Intimacy and Sexuality in People with a Medullary Injury (Monti et al., 2020). 15 items with scores 1 to 5 each. Outcome range 15-75. Higher scores indicate poorer outcomes. This will be aggregated to other outcomes using factor analysis

Changes in response of brain networks at rest and during viewing of emotional stimuli with sexual content. The recording will consist of 5 minutes of resting state (recording at rest). 8 total minutes of viewing of stimuli consisting of videos with an erotic and neutral emotional content. In particular, the subject will see two videos with an erotic content and two with an emotionally neutral content (the duration of each video is about 2 minutes). These stimuli will be selected from a standardized and validated visual battery for scientific studies presented in (Maffei & Angrilli, 2019). The spectral power across brain regions will be assessed by parametric spectral decomposition -presence and modulation of large scale patterns of correlated activity, assessed by means of measures of statistical dependency (correlation, mutual information)

Changes in response of brain networks at rest and during viewing of emotional stimuli with sexual content. The recording will consist of 5 minutes of resting state (recording at rest). 8 total minutes of viewing of stimuli consisting of videos with an erotic and neutral emotional content. In particular, the subject will see two videos with an erotic content and two with an emotionally neutral content (the duration of each video is about 2 minutes). These stimuli will be selected from a standardized and validated visual battery for scientific studies presented in (Maffei & Angrilli, 2019). The presence and modulation of large scale patterns of correlated activity, assessed by means of mutual information (minimal value zero, maximum value not univocally defined, depending on the data distribution), will be investigated.

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire PWB (Psychological Well-Being Scale). Questionnaire aimed at defining the patient's psychological well-being profile through items that evaluate the dimensions of self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental control, life purpose, personal growth and positive relationships with others (Ruini et al., 2003). 42 items with scores 1-6 each. Outcome range 42-252. Higher values indicated better well-being. Questionnaire responses will be aggregated by factor analysis

Assessed by means of a standardized questionnaire BAI (Beck Anxiety Inventory). Questionnaire consisting of 21 items that describe anxiety in its subjective, neurophysiological and autonomic aspects. (Sica & Ghisi, 2007; Starosta & Brenner, 2018). The BAI has also been found to be a tool with high sensitivity to anxiety levels in patients with multiple sclerosis (Watson et al., 2014). 21 items, with scores 1-4 each. Outcome range 21-84. Higher values indicate higher anxiety. Questionnaire responses will be aggregated by factor analysis

Self-assessment questionnaires of the emotional content of stimuli, in particular the self-assessment manikin (SAM) will be used (Bradley MM, Lang PJ). With this questionnaire, through pictorial representations of "mannequins", the patient will be asked to evaluate his emotional reactions while watching the videos, in terms of the intensity of the emotions felt and the positive or negative values of the sensations experienced during the vision. 9 mannequins for valence (score 1:sad, score 9: happy). 9 mannequins for arousal (increasing level 1 to 9).