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

What exactly goes on in the brain of a sex addict?

To provide further data on the nature of hypersexuality , Cambridge University has provided a novel study. Nineteen men were given brain scans while watching scenes from pornographic films.

Amazing 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 they are hooked on.

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

In short, the sample was expressly selected so that the experimental subjects were, to some degree, obsessed with sex. More 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 conducted the study observed certain changes in brain activity thanks to the images they obtained from the brain scan. Thus, they were able to see that a series of changes occur in the brain when experimental subjects watch porn.

They later compared the results shown on the scan with the results obtained in a sample group, with a sexual behaviour within normality. The results and conclusions, published in PLoS One , reported higher levels of activation among the “addicts” in up to three specific regions of the brain : the anterior cingulate cortex, the amygdala and the ventral striatum. These areas are exactly the same ones that record a surge of activation when addicted to prohibited substances see the drug.

Is hypersexuality an addiction?

One of the study’s coordinators, Valerie Moon, commented, “More studies will be needed before we can claim that we are dealing with an addiction. “We don’t know if some of these effects on the brain are caused by predispositions that help develop sex addictive behaviors, or if it’s simply an effect of pornography… it’s hard to say and further research will be needed.

For his part, Dr. John Williams, director of the foundation’s neuroscience and mental health department Welcome Trust , adds that “compulsive behaviors, such as excessive porn watching, sports betting or overeating, are becoming more and more common in our society. The Cambridge University study leads us to a somewhat better position when it comes to understanding why some people are prone to repeat some sexual behaviours that they know are harmful to them.

“Whether it is a question of sexual addiction, drug abuse or eating disorders, it is key for professionals to know when and how to intervene “, Williams concludes.

Bibliographic references:

  • Ellis, A., & Sagarin, E. (1965). Nymphomania: A Study of oversexed women. London: Ortolan.
  • Kafka, M. P. (2001). The paraphilia-related disorders: A proposal for a unified classification of nonparaphilic hypersexuality disorders. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity.
  • Krafft-Ebing, R. von (1886/1965). Psychopathia sexualis: Un estudio medico-forense (H. E. Wedeck, Trans.). Nueva York: Putnam.
  • Uitti, R. J., Tanner, C. M., & Rajput, A. H. (1989). Hypersexuality with antiparkinsonian therapy. Neurofarmacología clínica.
  • Estudio original: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/brain-activity-…