Your Brain on Porn

Submitted by admin on Sun, 01/24/2016 - 18:22

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Start here for a brief overview of concepts & science

Submitted by admin on Tue, 03/08/2016 - 12:17

This article is a short synopsis of some key concepts. For the science behind it, please follow all the links and read this page. Some links go to our articles, which in turn link to studies. For a more in-depth understanding and further evidence see The Research Page. For specific content explore Porn FAQs.

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What happens when you drop a male rat into a cage with a receptive female rat? First, you see a frenzy of copulation. Then, progressively, the male tires of that particular female. Even if she wants more, he has had enough. However, replace the original female with a fresh one, and the male immediately revives and gallantly struggles to fertilize her. You can repeat this process with fresh females until he is completely wiped out.

This is called the Coolidge effect—the automatic response to novel mates. Interestingly, men ejaculate more motile sperm and they do it more quickly when they view a novel porn star. This powerful automatic response to erotic novelty is what started you down the road to getting hooked on internet porn.

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Brain Studies on Porn Users

Submitted by admin on Thu, 07/31/2014 - 17:55

This page lists all the studies assessing the brain structure and functioning of Internet porn users. To date every study offers support for the porn addiction model. The results of these 24 studies are consistent with 140+ Internet addiction brain studies, many of which also include internet porn use. All support the premise that internet porn use can cause addiction-related brain changes, as do recent neuroscience-based reviews of the literature:

Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update (2015). The review also critiques two recent headline-grabbing EEG studies which purport to have "debunked" porn addiction.
Sex Addiction as a Disease: Evidence for Assessment, Diagnosis, and Response to Critics (2015), which provides a chart that takes on specific criticisms and offers citations that counter them.
Should Compulsive Sexual Behavior be Considered an Addiction? (2016). Excerpt: "Overlapping features exist between CSB and substance use disorders. Common neurotransmitter systems may contribute to CSB and substance use disorders, and recent neuroimaging studies highlight similarities relating to craving and attentional biases. Similar pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments may be applicable to CSB and substance addictions"
Compulsive Sexual Behaviour as a Behavioural Addiction: The Impact of the Internet and Other Issues (2016). Excerpts: "more emphasis is needed on the characteristics of the internet as these may facilitate problematic sexual behaviour." and "clinical evidence from those who help and treat such individuals should be given greater credence by the psychiatric community."

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Gary's TEDx talk - "The Great Porn Experiment"

Submitted by admin on Fri, 02/01/2013 - 12:08

Captions also available for 한국의, Chinese, Português, Czech, Deutsch, Estonian, עברית, Hungarian, Italian, Polski, Serbian, Slovak. Vietamese. To see them, click on the 'YouTube' logo to watch on YOUTube. Then, when you get there, click on "CC" for captions (bottom right of screen). Ver YBOP series in Español. Make captions in your own language!

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Age 17 - I'm more aware and less tired

Submitted by admin on Thu, 03/24/2016 - 19:56

I'm 17 and I've been doing this for nearly 2 years now. This is my second time getting to 90 days and you definitely feel better. My friends may think it's stupid but I'm certainly glad I chose to start.

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Age 22 - 4 weeks and my PIED has improved to 85-90%

Submitted by admin on Thu, 03/24/2016 - 14:23

One-two months ago I realised that I can't get it up without porn, so I decided to fix that. One of the things I have learned through experience is "research before doing anything", so I started reading articles about lifestyle, exercising, sexuality, healthcare and more.

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Age 49 - after 30+ yrs of PMO I'm empathizing with women's desire for intimacy

Submitted by admin on Thu, 03/24/2016 - 12:09

Been reading all I can about PMO harmful effects for almost a year...porn free for about 10 months, nofap for 44 days..this after being a disgusting porn addict since the 80s...stories I could tell...but never thought I could live without PMO at least several times a week, if not daily. Approaching 50 years old I have a new life thanks to this community.

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"Wack: Addicted to Internet Porn" Now Available as a Free PDF

Submitted by Spangler on Wed, 03/23/2016 - 20:32

Noah Church here. When I wrote "Wack: Addicted to Internet Porn" back in 2014, I wrote it because I needed a book like it years ago, but no one had written it yet. I had to learn the information contained in Wack the hard way, but in the process I discovered that many, many more people could benefit from a book specifically about Internet porn addiction and recovery. Since then, the information in "Wack" has helped thousands along their own journeys to recover from porn-induced sexual and social problems.

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Age 24 - Incredible drive, I want to illuminate the world

Submitted by admin on Wed, 03/23/2016 - 18:05

The best benefit of NoFap is the incredible desire to rise to the top - to the pinnacle. I have an incredible thirst to be elite - to be all I can be. I want to learn it all, see it all, do it all.

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