Studies examining the neuroimaging results of subjects who viewed internet pornography reveal brain region activation similar to craving and drug cue reactions for alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine.
What they found and reported is compelling. Researchers Love, Laier, Brand, Hatch, and Hajela (2015) conducted and published a review of several studies exploring the neuroscience of internet pornography. It can become very powerful in some individuals.
The simple answer is that pornography acts like a drug in the brain. It also raises the issue of whether or not pornography is addictive. This sparked some important questions about pornography that I would like to explore. Most of these men, in fact, were particularly fit individuals.įurther assessment revealed the common denominator amongst these young men was their high consumption and daily viewing of pornography. When he examined them, he found them to be healthy with no physical explanation for their ED. This is an unusual problem in this age range. He told me that several emerging adult men, ages 18-25, were coming into the clinic with problems associated with Erectile Dysfunction (ED). I started regarding pornography as addictive after a friend, a physician’s assistant working in a urology clinic approached me with concern.
