Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Berlin, Germany.
Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, St Hedwig-Krankenhaus, Berlin, Germany3University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hamburg, Germany.
JAMA Psychiatry. 2014 Jul 1;71(7):827-34. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93.
Since pornography appeared on the Internet, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of consuming visual sexual stimuli have increased and attracted millions of users. Based on the assumption that pornography consumption bears resemblance with reward-seeking behavior, novelty-seeking behavior, and addictive behavior, we hypothesized alterations of the frontostriatal network in frequent users.
To determine whether frequent pornography consumption is associated with the frontostriatal network.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In a study conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, 64 healthy male adults covering a wide range of pornography consumption reported hours of pornography consumption per week. Pornography consumption was associated with neural structure, task-related activation, and functional resting-state connectivity.
Gray matter volume of the brain was measured by voxel-based morphometry and resting state functional connectivity was measured on 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scans.
We found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the right caudate (P < .001, corrected for multiple comparisons) as well as with functional activity during a sexual cue-reactivity paradigm in the left putamen (P < .001). Functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was negatively associated with hours of pornography consumption.
The negative association of self-reported pornography consumption with the right striatum (caudate) volume, left striatum (putamen) activation during cue reactivity, and lower functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex could reflect change in neural plasticity as a consequence of an intense stimulation of the reward system, together with a lower top-down modulation of prefrontal cortical areas. Alternatively, it could be a precondition that makes pornography consumption more rewarding.
自互联网出现以来，人们获取、购买和使用视觉性刺激物的便捷性、可负担性和匿名性都有所提高，这吸引了数以百万计的用户。基于这样一种假设，即性消费与寻求奖励、寻求新奇和成瘾行为具有相似性，我们假设在频繁使用者中，额-纹状体网络会发生改变。
确定频繁的色情消费是否与额-纹状体网络有关。
设计、地点和参与者：这项在德国柏林马克斯·普朗克人类发展研究所进行的研究中，纳入了 64 名健康的成年男性，他们的色情消费频率跨度较大，报告了每周观看色情内容的时间。色情消费与神经结构、任务相关激活以及功能静息状态连接有关。
通过基于体素的形态测量法测量大脑的灰质体积，通过 3-T 磁共振成像扫描测量静息状态功能连接。
我们发现，每周报告的色情消费时间与右侧尾状核的灰质体积呈显著负相关（P<0.001，经多重比较校正），与性线索反应范式中左侧壳核的功能活动也呈显著负相关（P<0.001）。右侧尾状核与左侧背外侧前额叶皮层的功能连接与色情消费时间呈负相关。
自我报告的色情消费与右侧纹状体（尾状核）体积、线索反应时左侧纹状体（壳核）的激活以及右侧尾状核与左侧背外侧前额叶皮层的功能连接降低呈负相关，这可能反映了奖励系统受到强烈刺激后神经可塑性的改变，以及前额叶皮层区域的自上而下调节降低。或者，这可能是使色情消费更具吸引力的前提条件。
