The Brain On Porn Research Results

The JAMA Psychiatry article publish in May 2014 is the first brain-scan study on porn users.  According to the results of the study, Researchers found several brain changes that correlated with the amount of porn was consumed. The people that were studied were moderate porn users, not classified as addicted. In this study, experts at Germany’s Max Planck Institute found:

• The more hours per week/years of porn viewing correlated with a reduction in grey matter in sections of the reward circuitry (striatum) involved in motivation and decision-making. Reduced grey matter in this reward-related region means fewer nerve connections. Fewer nerve connections here translates into sluggish reward activity, or a numbed pleasure response, often called desensitization.
  • In other words, the more a person views porn, the more worn out the reward system.  This correlates with the need for more, better, and different kinds of porn or sex to get the same high.
• The reward circuit nerve connections with the prefrontal cortex are damaged with increased porn watching.  The prefrontal cortex is used to make behavior choices and as the study explained, “Dysfunction of this circuitry has been related to inappropriate behavioral choices, such as drug seeking, regardless of the potential negative outcome.”  In short, the porn viewer’s impulse control is impaired.
• The more the person views porn, the less the reward is activated when sexual images were flashed on the screen. A possible explanation is that heavy users eventually need more stimulation to fire up their reward circuitry. Desensitization, leading to tolerance, is common in all kinds of addictions. Simone Kühn concluded – “We assume that subjects with a high porn consumption need increasing stimulation to receive the same amount of reward.” Kühn says existing psychological, scientific literature suggests consumers of porn will seek material with novel and more extreme sex games. “That would fit perfectly the hypothesis that their reward systems need growing stimulation.“

The conclusions

The more a person views porn, the less the person will experience the reward or high of the viewing of sexual images. Also, the more porn viewed correlated with weakened willpower to say “no”.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Kevin Leapley, MA, LPC, CSAT

Sexual Addiction Therapist at Front Range Counseling Center

Kevin Leapley specializes in both marriage counseling and sexual addiction therapy for men. Kevin has received specialized training by Dr. Patrick Carnes and obtained his CSAT (Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist). Kevin has also received extensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and is a certified Emotionally Focused Therapist .

Latest posts by Kevin Leapley, MA, LPC, CSAT (see all)

• Relationship Panic & Attachment - September 18, 2018
• Anger Management Coping - January 22, 2017
• How Do People Behave In Anger - December 31, 2016
• Anger Management Distortions: Overgeneralization - December 3, 2016
• Two Basic Traits That Help Relationships Last - November 22, 2016