Behavior Addictions

Behaviour addictions

This section contains a few selected research papers on behavior addictions. A common argument against the existence of porn addiction is that it’s like not a drug.

All addictions, including behavior addictions, involve hijacking of the same neurocircuitry, and alterations of many of the same mechanisms and neurochemicals. A basic physiological principle is that drugs do not create anything new or different. They simply increase or decrease normal brain functions. In essence, we already possess the machinery for addiction (mammalian bonding/love circuitry), and for binging (yummy food, mating season).

Addiction Brain Changes

Science has demonstrated that many of the same addictive brain changes occur in behavior addictions including Internet addiction, pathological gambling and food addiction, as occur in drug addiction. (Please see other sections for specific studies). Only a single factor makes porn addiction unique: little research has been done on it to date. However, that situation is changing as we now have:

High Sexual Desire?

For a neurosurgeon’s look at the science behind porn addiction read his talk delivered at SASH (The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health) entitled, “Changing the Stamp of Nature: Pornography Addiction, Neuroplasticity, and the ASAM and DSM Perspectives.”