What
Brain Scans Tell Us
Cambridge Neuropsychiatrist
Valerie Voon was featured last year in the UK documentary Porn on the Brain. Her research demonstrates that
the brains of habitual porn users show great similarity to the brains of
alcoholics. A brain structure called the ventral striatum plays a
significant role in the reward system of the brain—the pleasure pathways. It is
the same part of the brain that “lights up” when an alcoholic sees a picture of
a drink.
The
Brain Chemicals of Sex
In The
Porn Circuit, Sam Black describes the various hormones and
neurotransmitters involved when someone views porn and how each ingredient in
this neuro-cocktail contributes to the problem:
- When having sex or
watching porn, dopamine is released into a
region of the brain responsible for emotion and learning, giving the
viewer a sense of sharp focus and a sense
of craving: “I have got to have this thing; this is what I
need right now.” It supplies a great sense of pleasure. The next time the
viewer gets the “itch” for more sexual pleasure, small packets of dopamine
are released in the brain telling the user: “Remember where you got your
fix last time. Go there to get it.”
- Norepinephrine is
also released, creating alertness and focus. It is the brain’s version of
adrenaline. It tells the brain, “Something is about to happen, and we need
to get ready for it.”
- Sex or porn also
trigger the release of oxytocin and vasopressin.
These hormones help to lay down the long-term memories for the cells. They
“bind” a person’s memories to the object that gave him or her the sexual
pleasure.
- The body
releases endorphins, natural opiates that
create a “high,” a wave of pleasure over the whole body.
- After sexual
release serotonin levels also change, bringing
a sense of calm and relaxation.
This system works the way it is
supposed to work when you’re having sex with your spouse. Together you can
experience a high, an alertness of sexual pleasure, and the deep calm
afterwards (norepinephrine, endorphins, and serotonin). With each sexual
embrace you are emotionally bonding to this person (oxytocin and vasopressin).
Over time a craving for sex is transformed into a desire for one another
(dopamine).
But short-circuits the system.
How
Porn Hijacks the System
Multiple problems happen when
porn is used. First, instead of forming a deep connection to a person, your
brain ends up “bonding” to a pornographic experience. Your
brain remembers where the sexual high was experienced, and each time you desire
sexual stimulation, you feel a sharp sense of focus: I’ve got to go back to the
porn.
In addition, pornography gives
the brain an unnatural high. In a recent TEDx talk, physiology teacher Gary
Wilson explained that when men look at porn, they experience
surge after surge of dopamine in the brain. The brain eventually fatigues,
stopping the production of dopamine, leaving the viewer wanting more but unable
to reach a level of satisfaction. As a result, everyday pleasures stop
causing excitement and the viewer seeks out more novel, more
intense pornography to get the same high as before.
This imbalance in the brain leads
to many problems: impotence with your spouse, frequent masturbation with very
little satisfaction, anxiety, fatigue, lack of motivation, inability to
concentrate, and escalating tastes for more bizarre or novel porn.
High-speed
Internet pornography users in their twenties are increasingly developing sexual
performance problems (erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation). Said one
young man,
“Lots of guys,
20s or so, can’t get it up anymore with a real girl, and they all relate having
a serious porn/masturbation habit. Guys will never openly discuss this with
friends or co-workers, for fear of getting laughed out of town. But when
someone tells their story on a health forum, and there are 50-100 replies from
other guys who struggle with the same thing, this is for real.”
Italian urologists recently
confirmed the impotence-porn use connection via a large survey. Italian
men suffer ‘sexual anorexia’ after Internet porn use. When interviewed
about the survey, urologist Carlo Foresta (head
of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine and professor at the
University of Padua) mentioned that 70% of the young men seeking clinical help
for sexual performance problems had been using Internet pornography habitually.
No one yet knows the percentage
of Americans affected. However, youthful impotence has implications for condom
use and safe sex.
Of those who ultimately recover
by terminating pornography use, many had previously been to doctors, undergone
numerous tests, and been declared “just fine” physically. Neither they nor
their health care providers considered excessive porn use as a potential cause
of their continued performance problems.
Most were assured that
“masturbation cannot cause erectile dysfunction.” This was no doubt sound
advice before masturbation was coupled with the constant novelty and
hyperstimulation of today’s Internet erotic possibilities. However, it may no
longer be valid given the effects of
superstimuli on the brain.
Among those who recover,
progression is surprisingly similar. When the users completely stop using
pornography (and masturbation as well for a time, because it is initially so
closely associated with porn fantasy), here’s what occurs:
1) Withdrawal symptoms and
cravings: Immediately
2) Complete loss of libido and
erections: Begins towards the end of week
one.
3) Absence of libido and
erections, increased flaccidity (“shrinking or lifeless penis”): Continues for 2-6 weeks, dependent upon age and
severity of porn use.
4) Gradual return of morning
erections, libido and spontaneous erections at other times, no more “semen
leakage” during bowel movements, etc.
5) Complete recovery of erectile health,
sexual desire for real partners, reports of extremely pleasurable sex,
contented condom use even if it was once a problem.
Sufferers typically recover
within eight weeks. Those in their late teens generally require a shorter
period of avoiding sexual stimulation to bounce back, but they also tend to
relapse more often, which extends their recovery. Older men may need a longer
period without stimulation in order to recover, but are typically more
disciplined. Either way, reports are encouraging:
“I am a 25-year
old male, masturbating a lot from 13 and using porn from 14. Gradually, it took
more to turn me on: bigger fantasies or harder porn, and I stopped getting hard
without touching. During sex I would struggle to get an erection or keep it,
especially for intercourse. Over the past 7 years I haven’t held down a
relationship, and the main reason for me has been this problem. Now the good
news: When I realized the cause, I immediately gave up porn. Over the last 6
weeks I held off masturbating as much as I possibly could. (My best record was
9 days!) It all paid off. I just went away with a girl for the weekend and it
was the best ever. I don’t think I’m out of the woods yet. I still get pretty
anxious from all the bad experiences over the years. But I just wanted to tell
you all it can work, and it’s well worth it!”
“Week 12, age
36 – I’m actually totally impressed how HUGE I get. It has been kinda hard to
ignore. I mean, my erections are ROCK HARD and ENORMOUS. I remember asking
other guys who went before me about when they noticed the return of their full
erections. Well, I think I got mine back.”
Those affected report that
escalating pornography tastes preceded their symptoms. Escalation, their
withdrawal symptoms during recovery, and the sequence and time-dependence of
their recovery all point to a common cause of their impotence, namely
overstimulation of the reward mechanism in the brain.
Animal models have established
that the mesolimbic dopamine pathway dopaminergic neurons activate the
hypothalamic erection centers. It’s likely that porn-induced ED is tied to
desensitization of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. This is a hallmark of all
known addiction processes. For a science teacher’s explanation of the science
behind porn-related erectile dysfunction, see this video presentation: Erectile Dysfunction and Porn.
Most men are astonished to learn
that pornography use can be a source of sexual performance problems. Only after
they experiment for themselves do they become fully convinced that pornography
use was indeed the source of their dysfunction.
