Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption: The Brain on Porn
AUTHOR(S)
PUBLISHED
2014 in JAMA Psychiatry, Vol. 71(7), pp. 827-834
KEY FINDINGS
- This study found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the brain, as well as with functional activity during a sexual cue-reactivity paradigm.
ABSTRACT
Importance: Since pornography appeared on the Internet, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of consuming visual sexual stimuli have increased and attracted millions of users. Based on the assumption that pornography consumption bears resemblance with reward-seeking behavior, novelty seeking behavior, and addictive behavior, we hypothesized alterations of the frontostriatal network in frequent users.
Objective: To determine whether frequent pornography consumption is associated with the frontostriatal... READ FULL ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine whether frequent pornography consumption is associated with the frontostriatal... READ FULL ABSTRACT
EXCERPTS
- "Our results of the sexual cue–reactivity paradigm show a negative correlation between PHs and the left putamen activation during sex cues compared with fixation. This is in line with the hypothesis that intense exposure to pornographic stimuli results in a downregulation of the natural neural response to sexual stimuli....Dysfunction of this circuitry has been related to inappropriate behavioral choices, such as drug seeking, regardless of the potential negative outcome."
