How Watching Pornography Changes The Brain

Guest Authors | January 23, 2012 5:00 am

By Mohamed Ghilan, UVic Neuroscience
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/ummah/men/how-watching-pornography-changes-the-brain/
It is now recognized in neuroscience that the brain is malleable. It changes with our experience
and forms pathways and connections that correlate with what we watch, listen to, and learn.
From the active engagement in a philosophical discussion in class to the learning of directions in
the new city you moved into; even the seemingly passive sitting down to listen to music or watch
television results in a constant formation of new connections in the brain that eventually make us
who we are as individuals. A huge problem, albeit a silent one, that has reached epidemic
proportions is the viewing of pornography, which affects men more so than it does women.
The great majority of articles on the problematic nature of this subject typically speak about it
from a psychological and/or social perspective. This article, however, will shed light on the
effects of viewing pornography from a neuroscience perspective.
The current model explaining how we learn and remember things at the brain level uses synaptic
plasticity as the basis. Synaptic plasticity is the ability of the brain to change the strength in
connections between the neurons (brain cells) in response to experience. This involves changing
the amount and types of receptors expressed, as well as the amount of neurotransmitters
(communication molecules) being released.
A vital neurotransmitter in the brain is dopamine. It has many important roles that it serves in
functions such as voluntary movement, motivation, reward, punishment, and learning. Dopamine
has been implicated in children with ADHD, cognitive decline due to aging, and depression.
Most of the publics knowledge about dopamine is about famous individuals with Parkinsons
disease such as Muhammad Ali and Michael J Fox, who have dopamine dysfunction pathology.
A vital role for dopamine is in pleasure experience, reward, and learning. Drugs such as cocaine
target the dopaminergic system to release great amounts of dopamine which results in
experiencing a high, often leading to addiction. A number of studies have implicated dopamine
in either the anticipation or the direct experience of pleasure. Depending on the brain area,
dopamine can be released either prior to or during the moments of heightened pleasure. When
released, dopamine strengthens and reinforces the new connections that are being made in the
brain while an activity is undertaken. This in turn acts to encourage the individual to repeat the
activity again so they can feel that pleasure once more.
How is this relevant to pornography? As the images are displayed on the screen, an arousal takes
place and the dopaminergic system is triggered just like it would be by drugs such as cocaine.
The newly formed connections in the brain from watching pornographic images become greatly
reinforced by the massive amounts of dopamine being released. Rather than going into short
term memory, where these images can be forgotten after the screen is turned off, the dopamine
reinforcement ensures theyre moved into the long-term memory stores where they can be stuck
in replay mode in the persons mind. The troublesome fact about this is that the more something
is recalled, the more it solidifies it in the brain. Think back to your school days when you studied
for an exam you repeated the statements you needed to memorize over and over until they
stuck.
Pornography is fantasy. Different scenes present with different women give the illusion of the
watcher having a relationship with a new person every time. These stars subject themselves to
different demeaning sexual practices by the men in the scenes. The acts in their totality are
detestable to most mentally healthy people. However, the design of the act in a pornographic
scene is to link one or two normally arousing and familiar elements with others that are not. This
is how the viewer acquires new tastes in sexual practice. Electromagnetic waves are emitted
from the screen with a fantasy that triggers a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing dopamine.
The result is a feeling of a real, yet delusional, state of pleasure and satisfaction. The dopamine
reinforces the new connections with newly acquired sexual tastes, and the next thing taking place
is the man asking his wife to engage in a sexual fantasy that was downloaded into his
subconscious.
The sequence of events in the brain is quite disturbingly simple. Synaptic plasticity works to
form new connections as a result of watching pornography, and newly learned memories are
stored. Since the experience is an arousing one, dopamine release results in very strong
reinforcement of those new connections. Now that the scenes are in long-term memory, two
consequences take place: 1) since the very same system stimulated by cocaine is being triggered
by pornography, addiction is developed; and 2) the man will often attempt to create his own re-
enactments with his wife, which leads to a great disappointment. The re-enactments do not live
up to expectations because instead of many different women, its now only one. Worse yet, this
only one woman doesnt sound, act, or look the same as the ones downloaded into his mind.
Although the first couple of re-enactments might be exciting, soon reality will strike and
dopamine will no longer be released because pleasure is no longer derived.
Sadly, thats not the end of it. After such a disappointment in the actual experience due to the
unrealistic fantasy-based expectations, the brain not only refrains from releasing dopamine; it
actually dips below baseline levels. It goes into a depression response that results in
disappointment, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness in the marriage since the wife is not up to what
he expected. Despite the efforts by many women to spice things up and even subject
themselves to the demeaning acts that have been artificially downloaded into their husbands
brains, the pornography-addicted husbands will only enjoy themselves for a very short while
before losing interest. Meanwhile, the wife feels unattractive and emotionally abandoned despite
her best efforts, not knowing that she couldnt compete with the dopamine buzz offered by
pornography.
Whats alarming about this information is that the brain acts as a whole entity; its plasticity is
global. Change in one area affects other regions. It is a literal rewiring of overall neural
connections as a result of pornography viewing. The extent of influence on other parts of the
brain and cognition is an area of research requiring attention.
While neuroscience paints a very disturbing picture for those affected by watching pornography,
its not all bad news. Although the same system for cocaine addiction is targeted by it, the
substance is not the same. A cocaine addict must go through a regimented program to detoxify
his system or otherwise hell be placing his life at risk. On the other hand, many men that have
learned about the real stark effects of watching pornography are able to quit immediately without
experiencing negative physiological consequences. It does take a lot of willpower and requires
the person to busy themselves with other activities. Initially, tormenting replays of pornographic
scenes watched over the past months or years will test the persons drive and strength to give it
up. Luckily, the same brain that went through a rewiring due to viewing pornography can also be
rewired again. It is an extremely efficient organ that gets rid of unused connections. The longer a
person can go without restimulating his pornographic connections, the more likely he makes it
for his brain to discard them. Engaging in new experiences and occupying the brain with other
PG-rated matters will be bound to force it to prune others away. It just needs time to do its work
and it needs to be given the choice; it will always choose what the person activates more often.