Researchers Link Watching Porn With Decrease In Grey Matter In The Brain

CollectiveEvolution

A new study out of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin has found an association between watching pornography and the volume of gray matter in a particular region of the brain.[1]

Scientists chose 64 healthy males between the ages of 21 and 45 to participate in the study. They begun by asking them to fill out a survey quantifying how much time they spent watching pornography each week. Researchers found the amount varied considerably between those involved in the study. On average, they found that the men did not watch more than about 4 hours of porn a week.

The Effects on The Brain

Following the survey, the brains of the men involved were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while they were either watching pornographic images or non-sexual images. Researchers found that there existed a negative association between the time spent watching pornographic images and the volume of gray matter of the right caudate of the striatum. They found a negative association between time spent watching porn and gray matter volume of the right caudate of the striatum.[2] While watching pornographic images, the MRI revealed that there was a decrease in brain function in the area of the brain often associated with motivation. Finally, the research suggested there was a negative link between the functional connectivity between the right caudate and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex which watching porn.[2]

“We found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the right caudate (P  P 

More Investigation Needed

Unbiasedly the researchers have admitted they cannot be certain at this point that the negative aspects of brain function and gray matter volume revealed in this study are caused by watching porn. They feel that although their research illustrates a link, more investigation will be needed to prove it further.

“Future studies should investigate the effects of pornography longitudinally or expose naïve participants to pornography and investigate causal effects over time.”

At this point the researchers have developed a few hypotheses as to why these results were found. They feel it could be that excessive stimulation of the reward system has resulted in alterations of neural plasticity. Or it could be simply that men with less gray matter in the striatum require more stimulation than other men and therefore watch more porn.

One again, the researchers acknowledge that more studies need to be done in order to to draw a more accurate conclusion, but the results are already quite intriguing.

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