Refractory period (sex) for treating sexual dysfunction. Sildenafil, used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, was found in one scientific study to have caused "a decreased postejaculatory erectile refractory time (3.2 ± 0.7 vs. 6.4 ± 0.7 minutes)" in men diagnosed with premature ejaculation. It is additionally proposed that the gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH), which is considered to inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and sexual functions causes refractoriness of the post-ejaculatory refractory period. This hypothesis also supports the increase of oxytocin and prolactin after orgasm in accordance with the previous studies. One alternative theory explains the male refractory period in terms of a peripheral
Refractory period (physiology) potential cannot be elicited. During the relative refractory period, a new action potential can be elicited under the correct circumstances. The cardiac refractory period can result in different forms of "re-entry", which are a cause of tachycardia. Vortices of excitation in the myocardium (autowave vortices) are a form of "re-entry". Such vortices can be a mechanism of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. In particular, the autowave reverberator, more commonly referred to as spiral waves or rotors, can be found within the atria and may be a cause of atrial fibrillation. The refractory period in a neuron occurs after an action potential and