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Gustav Klimt, The Kiss |
NEUROLOGY and SEXUAL ADDICTION
Neural Correlates of Sexual Cue Reactivity in
Individuals with and without Compulsive Sexual Behaviours
(PLOS 2014)
pdf
http
(1) common neural pathways in compulsive sexual behaviour and
drug addictions; (2) CSBs want more and enjoy less
Intense, Passionate, Romantic Love: A Natural
Addiction?
(Frontiers in Psychology, 2016)
pdf;
doc;
http
Romantic attraction and rejection employ neural pathways and
centers common to addiction and drug-craving
NEUROLOGY/PSYCHOLOGY and PORNOGRAPHY
Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity
Associated With Pornography Consumption (JAMA 2004)
http;
pdf
Higher hours of pornography consumption correlates with (1) lower
gray matter volume in the right caudate (P
< .001); (2) lower functional activity
during a sexual cue–reactivity paradigm in the left putamen
(P
< .001); and (3) lower functional
connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was
negatively associated with hours of pornography consumption.
Meta-Analysis: Pornography and Satisfaction
(Human Communication Research, 2017)
pdf;
http
lower interpersonal satisfaction for male users of pornography
NEUROLOGY and RELIGION
Reward, Salience, and Attentional Networks are Activated by Religious Experience
in Devout Mormons (Social Neuroscience, 2016)
pdf;
doc;
http
Mormon
Devotional practices activate brain reward circuits [as in addictions]: esp. in
(1)
nucleus accumbens; (2)
ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and (3)
frontal attentional regions.
NEUROLOGY
and SEXUAL
ADDICTION
[1] Neural Correlates of Sexual Cue Reactivity in Individuals with and without Compulsive Sexual Behaviours (PLOS 2014) pdf http
1. (as other studies conclude) A common (neural) network exists for sexual-cue reactivity and drug-cue reactivity in groups with compulsive sexual behaviour and drug addictions, respectively.
2. Subjects with CSB (compulsive sexual behaviour) had a greater dissociation between "wanting" and "enjoying" (i.e. they wanted more and enjoyed less than non-CSB males).
3.There are neural mechanisms underlying compulsive sexual behaviour that may be predisposing factors or effects of activity
ABSTRACT
ALTHOUGH compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a “behavioural” addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions.
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Figure 1. Condition contrasts. The glass brains and coronal images show the effects across groups of the following contrasts: explicit – exciting (left, top row), erotic – exciting (middle, middle row) and money – exciting (right, bottom row). The images are shown at whole-brain FWE-corrected P,0.05. The axial view (top right) shows the contrast across groups of explicit – exciting videos focusing on the substantia nigra. The image is shown with a substantia nigra region of interest mask overlaid on a magnetization transfer sequence. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102419.g001 |
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Figure 2. Explicit versus exciting cues. The coronal views represent the group-by video-type interaction of subjects with compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB).healthy volunteers (HV) contrasting explicit.exciting cues. The images are shown as regions of interest at P,0.005. The time course analyses represent the % signal change to explicit videos (top) and exciting videos (bottom) with CSB subjects in red and healthy volunteers in black. Error bars represent SEM. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102419.g002 |
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Figure 3: Sexual Desire. A. Subjective desire and liking scores to video types in subjects with compulsive sexual behaviours (CSB) and healthy volunteer (HV) participants. There was a significant group-by-video-type-by-desire/liking interaction. Error bars represent SEM. *p<0.05. B. Desire covariate for explicit videos in both CSB and HV subjects with the corresponding regression analysis graph for dorsal cingulate parameter estimates (P.E.) and desire scores. C. Psychophysiological interaction analysis with desire covariate for explicit-exciting contrast with dorsal cingulate seed. The coronal images and graphs show CSB subjects with an HV exclusive mask and corresponding regression analyses for ventral striatum and amygdala parameter estimates and desire scores. The images are shown as regions of interest at P<0.005. |
[2] Intense, Passionate, Romantic Love: A Natural Addiction? (Frontiers in Psychology, 2016) pdf; doc; http
1. Romantic attraction and rejection employ neural pathways and centers common to addiction and drug-craving.
2. Recovery from romantic rejection is analogous to recovery from drug-addiction.
ABSTRACT
NEUROLOGY/PSYCHOLOGY
and PORNOGRAPHY
[3] Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption (JAMA 2004) pdf http
1.
Higher hours
of pornography consumption correlates with
(1) lower gray matter volume in the right caudate
(P < .001);
(2) lower functional activity during a sexual cue–reactivity paradigm in the
left putamen (P
< .001); and
(3) lower functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex was negatively associated with hours of pornography
consumption.
ABSTRACT
Importance Since pornography appeared on the Internet, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of consuming visual sexual stimuli have increased and attracted millions of users. Based on the assumption that pornography consumption bears resemblance with reward-seeking behavior, novelty-seeking behavior, and addictive behavior, we hypothesized alterations of the frontostriatal network in frequent users.
Objective To determine whether frequent pornography consumption is associated with the frontostriatal network.
Design, Setting, and Participants In a study conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, 64 healthy male adults covering a wide range of pornography consumption reported hours of pornography consumption per week. Pornography consumption was associated with neural structure, task-related activation, and functional resting-state connectivity.
Main Outcomes and Measures Gray matter volume of the brain was measured by voxel-based morphometry and resting state functional connectivity was measured on 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scans.
Results We found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the right caudate (P < .001, corrected for multiple comparisons) as well as with functional activity during a sexual cue–reactivity paradigm in the left putamen (P < .001). Functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was negatively associated with hours of pornography consumption.
Conclusions and Relevance The negative association of self-reported pornography consumption with the right striatum (caudate) volume, left striatum (putamen) activation during cue reactivity, and lower functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex could reflect change in neural plasticity as a consequence of an intense stimulation of the reward system, together with a lower top-down modulation of prefrontal cortical areas. Alternatively, it could be a precondition that makes pornography consumption more rewarding.
Depictions of sexual content in films, music videos, and the Internet have increased in recent years.1 Because the Internet is not subject to regulations, it has emerged as a vehicle for circulation of pornography. Pornographic images are available for consumption in the privacy of one’s home via the Internet rather than in public adult bookstores or movie theaters. Therefore, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity2 have attracted a wider audience. Research in the United States has shown that 66% of men and 41% of women consume pornography on a monthly basis.3 An estimated 50% of all Internet traffic is related to sex.4 These percentages illustrate that pornography is no longer an issue of minority populations but a mass phenomenon that influences our society. Interestingly, the phenomenon is not restricted to humans; a recent study found that male macaque monkeys gave up juice rewards to watch pictures of female monkeys’ bottoms.5
The frequency of pornography consumption has been shown to predict various negative outcome measures in humans. A representative Swedish study on adolescent boys has shown that boys with daily consumption showed more interest in deviant and illegal types of pornography and more frequently reported the wish to actualize what was seen in real life.1,6- 8 In partnerships, a decrease in sexual satisfaction and a tendency to adopt pornographic scripts have been associated with frequent Internet pornography consumption.9 A longitudinal study following Internet users has found that accessing pornography online was predictive of compulsive computer use after 1 year.10 Taken together, the aforementioned findings support the assumption that pornography has an impact on the behavior and social cognition of its consumers. Therefore, we assume that pornography consumption, even on a nonaddicted level, may have an impact on brain structure and function. However, to our knowledge, the brain correlates associated with frequent pornography consumption have not been investigated so far.
Similar to theories taken from addiction research, it has been speculated in popular science literature that pornography constitutes a prewired, naturally rewarding stimulus and that high levels of exposure result in a downregulation or habituation of the neural response in the reward network. This is assumed to elicit adaptive processes in which the brain is hijacked, becoming less responsive to pornography.11 There is common agreement that the neural substrates of addiction consist of brain areas that are part of the reward network such as midbrain dopamine neurons, the striatum, and the prefrontal cortex.12,13 The striatum is assumed to be involved in habit formation when drug use progresses towards compulsive behavior.14 The ventral striatum in particular has been shown to be involved in cue-reactivity processing of various drugs of abuse15 but also in processing of novelty.16 Compromised prefrontal cortex function is among the major neurobiological modifications discussed in the research on substance abuse disorders common in humans and animals.17 In studies on pharmacological addiction in humans, volumetric alterations have been shown in the striatum and prefrontal cortex.18- 20
Within the present study, we set out to investigate the neural correlates associated with frequent—not necessarily addictive—pornography use in a healthy population to explore whether this common behavior is associated with the structure and function of certain brain regions.
1. Male users of pornography experience lower interpersonal satisfaction: [i.e. have less satisfaction in real interpersonal experiences of intimacy]
ABSTRACT
A classic question in the communication literature is whether pornography consumption affects consumers' satisfaction. The present paper represents the first attempt to address this question via meta-analysis. Fifty studies collectively including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries were located across the interpersonal domains of sexual and relational satisfaction and the intrapersonal domains of body and self satisfaction. Pornography consumption was not related to the intrapersonal satisfaction outcomes that were studied. However, pornography consumption was associated with lower interpersonal satisfaction outcomes in cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal surveys, and experiments. Associations between pornography consumption and reduced interpersonal satisfaction outcomes were not moderated by their year of release or their publication status. But analyses by sex indicted significant results for men only.
[5] Reward, Salience, and Attentional Networks are Activated by Religious Experience in Devout Mormons (Social Neuroscience, 2016)
Devotional practices activate brain reward circuits [as in addictions].
ABSTRACT
High-level cognitive and emotional experience arises from brain activity, but the specific brain substrates for religious and spiritual euphoria remain unclear. We demonstrate using functional magnetic resonance imaging scans in 19 devout Mormons that a recognizable feeling central to their devotional practice was reproducibly associated with activation in[:]
nucleus accumbens,
ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and
frontal attentional regions.
Nucleus accumbens activation preceded peak spiritual feelings by 1–3 s and was replicated in four separate tasks. Attentional activation in the anterior cingulate and frontal eye fields was greater in the right hemisphere. The association of abstract ideas and brain reward circuitry may interact with frontal attentional and emotive salience processing, suggesting a mechanism whereby doctrinal concepts may come to be intrinsically rewarding and motivate behavior in religious individuals.
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Figure 1. Subjective spiritual feelings throughout the imaging session. Above: Digitized hand-drawn traces for each subject of relative spiritual feelings during the MRI scan session compared to baseline feelings and peak spiritual feelings experienced during private devotional practice and worship services. Traces were drawn during a debriefing following the MRI scan. Below: Following the scan session, participants selected from among 14 terms commonly used in addresses from Mormon leaders which terms best described spiritual feelings they felt during each section of the MRI scan session. |
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Figure 2. Brain activation associated with “feeling the Spirit” across multiple task paradigms. (a) Regions associated with the term “reward” in the functional neuroimaging literature. (b–d) Brain activation associated with “feeling the Spirit” while viewing quotations (b,d) or scriptural passages (c). Color scale shows t-statistic, with significant regions satisfying q < .05, False-discovery rate corrected. (e) Left and right nucleus accumbens activity before and after moments of strong spiritual feeling during audiovisual stimuli. Blue regions show p < 0.05 for activity greater than the mean. |
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Figure 3. Conjunction analysis shows activation associated with “feeling the Spirit” during all three tasks. Colors show significant activation during 1, 2, or 3 tasks, each thresholded at a t-statistic of 3.69, corresponding to a p-value < .001. Coronal images are shown with subject left on image left, with MNI slices ranging at 5-mm intervals from y = −40 to y = 40. |
Kaplan and Saddock Synopsis as Standard textbook on sexual addiction
Images of brain structure and intercellular
connections (pathways)
https://www.ted.com/talks/antonio_damasio_the_quest_to_understand_consciousness
(from 2:02)
NEUROLOGY and ADDICTION
The Addicted Brain - Neurochemistry (Harvard, 2009) DOC; pdf
This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2002