Porn addiction causes brain to shrink

THE final nails have been driven into the coffin of the argument that pornography is not addictive.

In fact, research shows that porn addiction causes the thinking part of the brain to shrink and is as damaging as multiple drug addiction.

This according to Dr Albu van Eeden of Doctors for Life International, speaking at the KZN Harmful Traditional Practices, Human Trafficking, Pornography, Prostitution and Brothels Task Team.

Dr Albu said the belief that use of pornography is a morality question only, has been refuted by several breakthrough studies.

‘There is no debate on scientific level that it is an addiction.’

Dr Albu said because law is often lead by science and law guides conduct, junk science can derail social conduct.

This is why studying the effects of pornography on minors is critical when adopting legislation on pornography.

‘Breakthrough scientific studies prove that watching pornography physically alters the brain.’

Dr Albu said the reason for the explosion in popularity of internet pornography is rooted in accessibility, anonymity, affordability and alternation.

‘According to the SA Medical Research Council, children from the ages of 10 and as young as seven, now have easy access to pornographic images. ‘Google’s filter system is useless – a child of 12 can crack the system.

‘Hundreds of images can be viewed in 15 minutes.

‘We used to believe that the brain with which you are born, you die with.

‘Now we know about neuroplasticity – the brain changes its physical form and function and can be shaped and formed by experiences.’

Pruning process

How the brain changes and reacts to certain stimuli, can be identified through brain scans, such as the DATscanner which measures the intensity of pleasure.

‘For example, fear excites you – this is what attracts people to adrenaline sports.

‘Pornographic images combine feelings of lust, surprise, fear, anger, hate, disgust and hostility.

‘Pornography addiction causes the emotional side of the brain to overdevelop and the thinking side to remain underdeveloped.

‘The reptile brain (limbic system) cannot distinguish behaviour as irresponsible or bad – it just sees pleasure.

‘Studies show clear differences in brain activity between patients who have compulsive sexual behaviour and healthy volunteers.’

Dr Albu referred to a study by researchers at the University of Cambridge, who used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans to compare the brain activity of 19 people with compulsive sexual behaviours to that of the same number of healthy subjects, while both groups watched pornography.

The brains of those with the compulsive sexual behaviours ‘lit up’ differently from those without compulsions and the patterns of brain activation mirrored those of drug addicts when exposed to drugs.

‘The Cambridge-experiment shows what happens when the pleasure part of limbic system is over-exercised.

‘Watching pornography causes a testosterone explosion in the brain.

‘This leads to an obsession with sex, delinquency, increased anger and stress levels and experimenting with drugs.’

Pornography is addictive, is because of secretion of hormones and its effects on the synapses and neurons in the brain. Cocaine has a structure which is similar to dopamine and produces extreme levels of pleasure, while endorphins are similar to morphine.

The brain produces extremely high levels of these neurotransmitters while watching pornography, causing the same results as multiple drug addictions.

Too much pleasure is abnormal.

While stimulation will cause growth of new branches formed in nerve cells, the brain starts pruning these branches to lower pleasure levels to restore the balance.

The addict now experiences less pleasure and must take more of the drug to experience the same height of pleasure, because of worsened nerve connections.

The pruning process eventually causes the frontal cortex to physically shrink.