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Brain activity appears similar between sex and drug addiction

Brain activity triggered by pornography in people with sex addiction is similar to activity triggered by drugs in brains of drug addicts, according to recent study findings published in PLOS ONE.

“The patients in our trial were all people who had substantial difficulties controlling their sexual behavior and this was having significant consequences for them, affecting their lives and relationships,” Valerie Voon, MD, PhD, an intermediate clinical fellow at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, said in a press release. “In many ways, they show similarities in their behavior to patients with drug addictions. We wanted to see if these similarities were reflected in brain activity, too.”

Valerie Voon

Voon and colleagues evaluated 19 heterosexual men with compulsive sexual behavior and 19 age-matched controls to determine the effect of compulsive sexual behavior on brain function. Participants were shown a series of short videos featuring sexually explicit content or sports. Functional MRI was used to measure brain activity.

Job loss, damaged intimate relationships or negatively influenced other social activities, experienced diminished libido or erectile function specifically in physical relationships with women, excessive escort use, suicidal ideation and using large amounts of money were reported by participants with compulsive sexual behavior.

Compared with controls, more difficulty with sexual arousal and experience with erectile difficulties in intimate sexual relationships were reported by participants with compulsive sexual behavior.

The ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate and amygdala were more active in participants with compulsive sexual behavior compared with controls. These are the same regions activated in drug addicts when they are shown stimuli.

Participants with compulsive behavior reported higher levels of desire toward sexually explicit videos.

“There are clear differences in brain activity between patients who have compulsive sexual behavior and healthy volunteers,” Voon said in the release. “These differences mirror those of drug addicts. Whilst these findings are interesting, it’s important to note, however, that they could not be used to diagnose the condition. Nor does our research necessarily provide evidence that these individuals are addicted to porn — or that porn is inherently addictive. Much more research is required to understand this relationship between compulsive sexual behavior and drug addiction.”

Disclosure: The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust. See the study for a complete list of the researchers’ financial disclosures.