Out of 1 million random sites, 4% are pornographic; It may seem moderate but… their attendance is extremely important compared to others And it has an impact on the brain!
The man did not wait for the Internet to take an interest in pornography, but with the web the consequences seem much more worrying. A German study shows that the brains of consumers of pornographic films react less to sexual stimuli and that their right lobes are smaller than that of others.
While we do not know the number of users of online pornography, because it is rarely claimed information, in fact a figure is consensus: more than 100 billion euros of annual market. That is a lot and if we do not know the consequences on the brain, other forms of consumption (books and films), we have, on the other hand, a more precise idea with the net.
A smaller brain
German researchers conclude that certain areas of the brain of porn consumers are smaller than those of the general population. This study only involved men, aged 21 to 45, who watched 4 hours of pornographic films per week, by their own admission. They submitted to a test that assesses the risk of addiction to online content, as well as MRIs, a very precise X-ray exam. The researchers found a negative, significant association between viewing pornography for several hours per week and the volume of gray matter in the right brain lobe, as well as the activity of the prefrontal cortex. They explain this phenomenon by a very fashionable term among doctors: plasticity. It is an amazing property of our brain to be able to “remodel” itself according to what we do to it. It is plasticity that explains why, for example, after a stroke, we can redevelop damaged areas to live normally. This also explains that there is no age to progress and that in this area old age is relative …
With pornography, changes in plasticity result from intense stimulation of the pleasure center. This worries doctors, because the two areas of the brain that pornography acts on are associated with areas of addiction during drug use. The brains of consumers of pornography can be compared to that of consumers of cocaine or amphetamines. On the other hand, nothing says that it is the consequence of an abuse of pornographic videos. The chicken and the egg! It is perhaps the people whose volume of this part of the brain is smaller, who need more external stimulation to feel pleasure; so watch pornographic movies.
What about the children?
Remember that the men studied were over 21 years old. However, according to the FIFG in 2017 Half of adolescents aged 15 to 17 have already surfed on pornographic sites and Statista, a statistics portal, estimates that nearly 90% of young boys who have already surfed on a pornographic site have, at at least once in their lifetime visited a site with free pornographic content. Paid sites are far less favored, with less than one in ten boys who have visited a paid porn site. All of these numbers are on the rise.
What will be the consequences on the plasticity of their brain No study is underway on this subject; on the other hand, it has been a long time since psychiatrists have drawn the alarm signal on the disastrous psychological consequences of immersion too early in the world of porn.
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