By: Lexie LaVallee

 

It might sound extreme to hear that porn has a severe effect on your brain. I mean, how can something you look at have such a strong effect? We watch tv, movies, and play video games and you don’t hear many people talking about addiction and damage from those things, so why porn? 

Porn and Your Brain

Here’s how porn is different: It hijacks our brains pleasure centers. 

In case you didn’t know, you and every mammal has something called a pleasure center deep in your brain and it affects your thoughts, cravings, and behavior. (1) True to its name, it releases chemicals into your brain that make you feel “pleasure.” Normally it’s a great system that encourages you to do healthy things like eat, feel good about a workout, or enjoy a kiss. (2) Those chemicals give you a “high”, so to speak, that makes you want to do it again and thereby increase your chances of survival. (3) (4) Pretty incredible how complex even just that one part of our brain is!

Unfortunately, your brain can be tricked by addictive substances that trip off “false signals.” (5) It can’t discern the difference between a good or bad substance, and it will crank out dopamine which grows your craving for that substance. (6) Normally, your brain has a built-in “off” switch for natural pleasures. “Dopamine cells stop firing after repeated consumption of a ‘natural reward’ (e.g. food or sex),” explains Nora Volkow, Director of The National Institute of Drug Abuse. [7] But addictive drugs or experiences’ increase dopamine levels without giving the brain a break. [8] This basically forces the brain to override and chase the thrill of what’s making it feel so fantastic.

That’s what happens when you smoke, use drugs, drink, and consume porn.

Physiological Brain Changes

Believe it or not, studies show that those who consume pornography more frequently have brains that are less connected, less active, and even smaller in certain areas. [9]

Dr. Simone Kuhn explains this in more depth. 

The reason this happens is because your brain is made up of 100 billion nerves called neurons. These guys are why you never forget to ride a bike. They send information from your brain to parts of your body, and the more frequently they go back and forth the more permanent their paths become.(10) This is the science behind the phrase “practice makes perfect.” 

If we’re practicing porn, then we’re wiring our brains around that activity. 

That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the science behind how porn impacts the brain. I highly encourage you to seek more information out. What I find encouraging about all of the science is that it confirms what the Bible has been telling us long before neuroscience existed. The Bible talks about lust fairly often, but James sums it up well.

the Bible on Porn

“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death” James 1:14-15

Any recommendations Jesus made on how to live and what to avoid are always from a place of love. He wants to protect us from the certain death that takes place when we indulge in lust. In the case of porn use, it can actually kill off parts of your brain.

(Later in this series, we’ll talk about how porn also can kill off your creativity, relationships, and even affect the world around you.)

If you do watch porn, guess what, you are still loved. Romans 8:35 speaks of a promise that regardless of what happens or what we do, NOTHING can separate us from the love of the Father. At the start of Romans 8 we are told that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If you’re feeling any guilt or shame, repent and begin new practices because our heavenly father is certainly not ashamed of you. He is longing to help you overcome this. Healing neuropathways is nothing to Him. No damage is permanent, not even death when it comes to Jesus.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (emphasis added)

You are loved and there is hope. 

 

Click here to join a ProvenMen group near you. Subscribe and continue getting our blogs!

Lexie LaVallee is a coffee connoisseur and avid dog lover living in Nashville, TN. She has a degree in Psychology from Lee University and attends The Belonging Co. Church. Lexie has been fighting sex-trafficking for 6 years, partnering with non-profit organizations, to help people find redemption and live undefined by their circumstances. 

 

References

[1] National Institute On Drug Abuse: The Reward Pathway. (2016). Retrieved From Http://Www.Drugabuse.Gov/Publications/Teaching-Packets/Understanding-Drug-Abuse-Addiction/Section-I/4-Reward-Pathway; Volkow, N. D., & Morales, M. (2015). The Brain On Drugs: From Reward To Addiction. Cell, 162 (8), 712-725. Doi:10.1016/J.Cell.2015.07.046; Pitchers, K. K., Et Al. (2013). Natural And Drug Rewards Act On Common Neural Plasticity Mechanisms With DeltaFosB As A Key Mediator. Journal Of Neuroscience, 33 (8), 3434-3442. Doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4881-12.2013

[2] Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiological Advances From The Brain Disease Model Of Addiction. New England Journal Of Medicine, 374, 363-371. Doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480; Zatorre, R. J., & Salimpoor, V. N., (2013) From Perception To Pleasure: Music And Its Neural Substrates. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of The Sciences Of The United States Of America, 110, 2. Doi:10.1073/Pnas.1301228110; Hedges, V. L., Chakravarty, S., Nestler, E. J., & Meisel, R. L. (2009). Delta FosB Overexpression In The Nucleus Accumbens Enhances Sexual Reward In Female Syrian Hamsters. Genes Brain And Behavior, 8(4), 442–449. Doi:10.1111/J.1601-183X.2009.00491.X

[3] Bostwick, J. M., & Bucci, J. E. (2008). Internet Sex Addiction Treated With Naltrexone. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 83(2), 226–230. Doi:10.4065/83.2.226; Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. New York: Penguin Books. (106-108).

[4] Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (2016). Liking, Wanting, And The Incentive-Sensitization Theory Of Addiction. American Psychologist, 71(8), 670-679. Doi:10.1037/Amp0000059; Berridge, K.C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015). Pleasure Systems In The Brain. Neuron, 86, 646-664. Doi:10.1016/J.Neuron.2015.02.018; Paul, P. (2007). Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, And Our Families. (75) New York: Henry Hold And Co.; Hyman, S. E. (2005). Addiction: A Disease Of Learning And Memory. American Journal Of Psychiatry, 162(8), 1414-1422. Doi:10.1176/Appi.Ajp.162.8.1414

[5] Stacy, A. W., & Wiers, R. W. (2010). Implicit Cognition And Addiction: A Tool For Explaining Paradoxical Behavior, Annual Review Of Clinical Psychology, 6, 551-575. Doi:10.1146/Annurev.Clinpsy.121208.131444

[6] Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (2016). Liking, Wanting, And The Incentive-Sensitization Theory Of Addiction. American Psychologist, 71(8), 670-679. Doi:10.1037/Amp0000059; Hilton, D. L. (2013). Pornography Addiction—A Supranormal Stimulus Considered In The Context Of Neuroplasticity. Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology, 3, 20767. Doi:10.3402/Snp.V3i0.20767; Pitchers, K. K., Et Al. (2013). Natural And Drug Rewards Act On Common Neural Plasticity Mechanisms With DeltaFosB As A Key Mediator. Journal Of Neuroscience, 33(8) 3434-3442. Doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4881-12.2013; Salamone, J. D., & Correa, M. (2012). The Mysterious Motivational Functions Of Mesolimbic Dopamine. Neuron, 76, 470-485. Doi:10.1016/J.Neuron.2012.10.021

7] Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiological Advances From The Brain Disease Model Of Addiction. New England Journal Of Medicine, 374: 363-371. Doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480

[8] Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiological Advances From The Brain Disease Model Of Addiction. New England Journal Of Medicine, 374: 363-371. Doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480; Volkow, N. D., & Morales, M. (2015). The Brain On Drugs: From Reward To Addiction. Cell, 162 (8), 712-725. Doi:10.1016/J.Cell.2015.07.046; Yanofski, J. (2011). The Dopamine Dilemma—Part II. Innovations In Clinical Neuroscience, 8(1), 47-53. Retrieved From Https://Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/Pmc/Articles/PMC3036556/

{9] Love, T., Laier, C., Brand, M., Hatch, L., & Hajela, R. (2015). Neuroscience Of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review And Update, Behavioral Sciences, 5(3), 388-433. Doi: 10.3390/Bs5030388; Kuhn, S., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Brain Structure And Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption: The Brain On Porn. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(7), 827-834. Doi:10.1001/Jamapsychiatry.2014.93; Love, T., Laier, C., Brand, M., Hatch, L., & Hajela, R. (2015). Neuroscience Of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review And Update, Behavioral Sciences, 5(3), 388-433. Doi: 10.3390/Bs5030388; Wehrum-Osinski, S., Klucken, T, & Rudolf, S. (2015) OR-95: Neuronal And Subjective Responses In Patients With Excessive Pornography Consumption, Journal Of Behavioral Addictions, 4(S1), 42; Arnow, B. A., Et Al. (2002). Brain Activation And Sexual Arousal In Healthy, Heterosexual Males. Brain, 125, 1014-1023. Doi:10.1093/Brain/Awf108. See Also Kuss, D., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Internet And Gaming Addiction: A Systematic Literature Review Of Neuroimaging Studies, Brain Science, 2(3) 347-374. Doi:10.3390/Brainsci2030347 (Discussing Brain Atrophy Among Persons Addicted To Internet Use.)

(10) [7] Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. (242-243) New York: Penguin Books