The Pornified Brain (Pat Fagan,9/11/21 email)

The Pornified Brain

"The orgasm has replaced the Cross  as the focus of longing and the image of fulfillment." Malcolm Muggeridge, English Journalist and Satirist

When Viewing Erotica Men Experience Greater Sexual Arousal Than Women

A 2002 study compared neural pathways of sexual arousal between men and women using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) --- used to measure blood flow for assessing brain activity, to test whether men generally experienced greater sexual arousal than women when viewing erotica.    Findings: Men had a significantly greater sexual arousal than women when viewing erotica. In both men and women, the viewing of erotica activated many of the same areas of the brain.  But it was only among men that the hypothalamus and thalamus were activated.  These are the areas of the brain that play a pivotal role in arousal and sexual behavior,  And in men, the magnitude of activation of the hypothalamus corresponds to their level of sexual arousal.   Data Source and Description:  40 heterosexual university students (20 men and 20 women) with no history of neurological or psychiatric illness, and aged 25 years on average, were recruited for the study.

Frequent Porn Consumption Changes the Brain

A 2014 JAMA Psychiatry study examined whether frequent porn consumption was associated with an area of the brain assumed to be involved in habit formation and reward system.    Findings: Frequent pornography use changed the brain region that corresponded with the reward system.  With frequent pornography use the same areas of the brain are activated as are activated by addictive Internet consumption.   Data Source and Description:  Data recruited 64 healthy male participants from Berlin, Germany with an average age of 28.9 years. This study was restricted to men because of the higher consumption and exposure to pornography among men compared to women.

Negative Feelings Increase Pornography Consumption

A 2021 study examined the effect of experimentally induced negative feelings on the consumption of pornography in healthy young men. It went on to examine the moderating effects of a range of other pornography-related habits.   Findings: Men had stronger neuro-cortical responses to pornographic pictures compared to neutral one. In the group of men manipulated to experience experimentally-induced-negative-feelings, those who had a history of frequent masturbation had higher electrocortical (brain) activity when viewing pornography, compared to men who did not masturbate.  Habits of masturbation lead to higher brain arousal when watching pornography. [Editor: --- thus continuously increasing the addiction through the powerful conditioning effect of the pleasure of orgasm.]   Data Source and Description: Participants: 64 healthy, heterosexual men who had a mean age of 24.9 years. They were divided into two groups: the negative feedback group (n = 32) and the neutral feedback group (n = 32). The negative feedback group were shown pornographic pictures, while the neutral feedback group were shown pictures with fully clothed adults. Participants' electrocortical activity was continuously recorded on the electroencephalogram (EEG) as they looked at the pictures.

New MARRI Website

Marri's website has been reconstructed and we hope you will like the differences, which are subtle, but will become more apparent over time.  One immediate difference will be welcomed by regular readers of Faith and Family Findings: they are now much more easily searched for old findings they might want to retrieve.  Experiment at this site:  https://marri.us/faith-and-family-findings-categories/

For More Information about Healthy Marriages, please visit Marripedia.org