# Investigating peripheral nerve stimulation as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $1

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The goal of this study is to investigate peripheral nerve stimulation as a treatment for
female sexual dysfunction (FSD). FSD affects a massive number of women in the world, yet
investigations into treatment options have been limited. A promising treatment avenue is
neuromodulation. Neuromodulation is an increasingly expanding clinical treatment option to treat
a wide variety of disorders. In studies of men and women receiving neuromodulation therapy for
treatment of bladder dysfunction (in the form of sacral neuromodulation and percutaneous tibial
nerve stimulation), both men and women noted an unintended improvement in sexual functioning.
This study is driven by the hypothesis that similar stimulation techniques and paradigms can be
used to specifically target sexual functioning in women with FSD and cause significant
improvements. This effect has been demonstrated in preliminary studies within this lab, where it
has been proven possible to drive increases in low frequency oscillations in vaginal blood flow in
anesthetized rats. In this proposed study, researchers will be further investigating the optimal
parameters for driving acute genital arousal in female rats. Furthermore, researchers will be
evaluating the effect of peripheral nerve stimulation on sexual behavior. The hypothesis is that by
stimulating nerves that innervate the sexual genitalia and drive genital arousal, the stimulation will
increase sexually receptive behavior. This will be evaluated through video of recording of female
rats interacting with male rats during and after stimulation. This research aims to demonstrate the
potential for peripheral nerve stimulation to serve as an effective treatment for female sexual
dysfunction.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9900846
- **Project number:** 5F31HD094480-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Leigh Zimmerman
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2020-05-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9900846

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9900846, Investigating peripheral nerve stimulation as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction (5F31HD094480-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9900846. Licensed CC0.

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