Hypersexuality: What Happens In The Brain Of A Sex Addict?

Most mental health professionals agree in their explanation of sex addiction: It would not be a chemical or physiological addiction as occurs with most drugs (cocaine, alcohol, tobacco), but the cause is found in some type of behavioral disorder.

What exactly happens in the brain of a sex addict?

To provide more information regarding the nature of the hypersexuality, Cambridge University has provided a novel study. Nineteen men had brain scans performed while they watched scenes from pornographic films.

Surprising facts

The research showed that the brain regions that were activated were the same reward centers that are activated in the brains of drug addicts when they visualize the substance to which they are hooked.

Some of the subjects studied were close to the sex addict profile. In fact, two of them had recently lost their jobs for consuming pornography in the office, and four of the other subjects stated that consuming porn was their way of avoiding resorting to prostitutes.

In short, the sample was expressly selected so that the experimental subjects were, to some degree, obsessed with sex. Rather than a typical addiction, the researchers felt it necessary to suggest that this type of sex addiction is closer to an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Scanning the brain

The group of researchers who carried out the study observed certain changes in brain activity thanks to the images they obtained from the brain scanner. Thus, they were able to verify that a series of changes occur in the brain when the experimental subjects watched porn.

Later they compared the results shown in the scanner with the results obtained in a sample group, with sexual behavior within normality. The results and conclusions, published in PLoS One, reported higher levels of activation among “addicts” in up to three specific regions of the brain: the anterior cingulate cortex, the amygdala and the ventral stratum. These areas are exactly the same ones that see a surge of activation when substance abusers see the drug.

Is hypersexuality an addiction?

One of the study coordinators, Valerie Moon, commented: “more studies will still be necessary to be able to maintain that we are facing an addiction.” “We do not know if some of these effects on the brain are caused by predispositions that help develop sex addictive behaviors, or if it is simply an effect of pornography… it is difficult to say and we will have to continue researching.”

For his part, Dr. John Williams, director of the foundation’s neuroscience and mental health department WelcomeTrust, adds that “compulsive behaviors, such as watching porn excessively, betting on sports or eating too much, are increasingly common in our society. The study from the University of Cambridge leads us to a somewhat better position when it comes to understanding why some people are prone to repeating some sexual behaviors that they know are harmful to them.

“Whether it’s sexual addiction, drug abuse or eating disorders, It is key for professionals to know when and how to intervene ”Williams concludes.