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) the amount of time it takes for an excitable membrane to be ready for a second stimulus once it returns to its resting state following an excitation. It most commonly refers to electrically excitable muscle cells or neurons. Absolute refractory period corresponds to depolarization and repolarization, whereas relative refractory period corresponds to hyperpolarization. After initiation of an action potential, the refractory period is defined two ways: The absolute refractory period coincides with nearly the entire duration of the action potential. In neurons, it is caused by the inactivation of the Na channels that originally opened to depolarize the membrane. These