This section contains research and articles on the brain regions, neurotransmitters and hormones involved with male libido and erections. Most are quite technical. Erectile dysfunction induced by excessive porn use is a growing problem. See: Porn and sexual problems? This list contains over 40 studies linking porn use/porn addiction to sexual problems and lower arousal […]
Read More… from Erections: Neurotransmitters, Hormones, Brain Regions
A Massachusetts General Hospital study in next week’s Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging shows marked brain changes over an eight-week practice of mindfulness meditation. Of course, by definition, every experience you have makes changes in your brain (that’s pretty much the definition of experience: “something that changes your brain”), but in this case, the changes point to […]
Comments: Many heavy porn users complain of ADD/ADHD like symptoms. Many see an improvement in their symptoms as they get off porn. Porn addiction probably leads to a temporary decline in dopamine (D2) receptors, as was found in those diagnosed with ADHD. Note: I am not saying that the majority of ADHD is caused by porn use.
Story from BBC NEWS:
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Read More… from (L) ADHD Brain Chemistry Clue Found: Dopamine Receptors and Transporters (2009)
YBOP COMMENTS: Important findings in this study are that neither time spent viewing porn on the Internet nor personality factors were associated the level of reported problems with Internet porn use (IAT sex score). Instead, it was intensity of the experience and amount of novelty (different applications opened) that mattered…suggesting that dopamine levels were at […]
Good study on novelty-seeking personality and dopamine auto-receptors. Auto-receptors help control the amount of dopamine released. Low levels of auto-receptors mean more dopamine is released for certain stimuli. High dopamine makes novel *anything* more exciting, or stimulating to the reward circuit.
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Comments: Another good overview of addiction, focusing on dopamine
Your brain on drugs’: Fishhooks of addiction Tuesday, July 15, 2008 By Gigi MarinoResearch/Penn State
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Read More… from (L) Your Brain on Drugs: Fishhooks of Addiction (2008)
Comments: Study describes how excessive dopamine can not only strengthen “go for it” circuits in addiction, but also weaken opposing “stop circuits.”
Unlocking the mystery of why dopamine freezes Parkinson’s patients
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Read More… from (L) Dopamine Reshapes Key Brain Circuits That Control Behavior (2008)
Will stopping porn solve my problems? Porn is actually a synthetic substitute for the daily pleasures that naturally gave your ancestors a sense of wellbeing—such as companionship. This means that stopping porn is not enough. You need to rediscover those natural sources of wellbeing. Unfortunately, one of the highest costs of addiction is that it […]
Fred Penzel is the author of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Complete Guide to Getting Well and Staying Well. I asked him about the efficacy of “exposure” treatment as a cure for HOCD, given that exposure to gay/transsexual porn is a cue for sexual arousal, a powerful “reward” at a brain-chemical level. (In other words, someone trying […]
