How porn rewires the brain

Verified by Psychology Today. Women Who Stray. There has been a tremendous amount of hyperbole about porn use, with many doomsayers claiming that it triggers dangerous neurochemical changes in the brain. Popular antiporn advocates argue that porn use is a public health issue, not a free speech issue.

Rewiring and unwiring refers to neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences. Brian plasticity occurs on multiple levels and includes but is not limited to :. The above mechanisms are at work during brain development, learning, memory formation, and the development of addiction. Neuroplasticity works in two directions: it can weaken or delete old connections as well as strengthen or create new connections. The above short quote encompasses three of the major neuroplastic changes found in addictions: hypofrontality, sensitization and desensitization. Addiction terminology is confusing.

Porn addiction is a subset of sex addictions. It is when a person loses the ability to control whether they watch porn or not, despite the negative consequences. The addict may or may not masturbate or use toys; in fact, they may not even orgasm or enjoy watching it. While it is a naturally occurring chemical, most abused substances will trigger a dopamine response without anything external happening.

A significant postulate of this commentary is that all addictions create, in addition to chemical changes in the brain, anatomical and pathological changes which result in various manifestations of cerebral dysfunction collectively labeled hypofrontal syndromes. They are well known to clinical neuroscientists, especially neurologists and neurosurgeons, for they are also seen with tumors, strokes, and trauma. Indeed, anatomically, loss of these frontal control systems is most apparent following trauma, exemplified by progressive atrophy of the frontal lobes seen in serial MRI scans over time. Although the key elements of hypofrontal syndromes—impulsivity, compulsivity, emotional lability, impaired judgment—are well described, much of the process is still unknown. One emerging aspect of these hypofrontal states is their similarity to findings in addictive patients.