Your Brain On Porn: Porn Addiction (Part 2)

A science teacher explains the evolutionary forces behind porn's appeal, how the brain changes in response to super-normal stimulation, and what makes today's porn different from static porn of the past. For more, visit "Your Brain On Porn" http://yourbrainonporn.com.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Internet pornography addiction
• porn addiction
• porn recovery
• brain science of addiction

[danndan6]

why is YBOP not connecting? !!!!!!!!!!



[BodyWisdomVideos]

@danndan6 Because our host - dreamhost is having severe problems. Time to change to another company!

[prajnasword]

Although we may not be evolutionarily suited for so many partners (albeit virtual), our environments may be so stressful that the greater levels of dopamine are compensatory and may be necessary to maintain overall health. I think that the increase in internet porn is a symptom of something greater that needs to be addressed. To mix literary metaphors, maybe the proles need soma to keep them from realizing that they are proles and will always be proles.

[BodyWisdomVideos]

@prajnasword Short term stress causes a burst in dopamine leading to cravings, while long-term, chronic, everyday stress can decrease baseline dopamine levels, leading to less pleasure experienced with "normal" rewards. So yes, stress plays a role in craving more dopamine - but not getting it. Addiction is LESS baseline dopamine, interspersed by short bursts of high dopamine when using (porn, alcohol, drugs). Not true compensation as one is on a rollercoaster of highs & lows. Not very healthy.

[ShaxAMV]

if it's all about reproduction, then how do gays get horny?

[BodyWisdomVideos]

@ShaxAMV The question is not why do gays get horny? One would have to remove structures in the brain to prevent sexual desire from occurring. Rather the evolutionary mystery is - why does homosexuality exist? What is the evolutionary advantage is of homosexuality, since it leads to no offspring. One theory is that the genes (from the parents of gay men) may lead to more promiscuity in the sisters of gay men. But theories abound.

[kingkevinjoy]

mommy good, snake bad....hold on lemme write this down

[BodyWisdomVideos]

@PabloPena108 Since you are invoking Buddhist teachings, one of the main tenants appears to be that cravings and desires lead to suffering. This video is about the human reward circuitry, which is the source of all cravings and desires. Why do you think the Dali Lama is such a neuroscience geek? Perhaps the experience of “enlightenment” is activation of specific neural circuits.

[Jamesx1010]

@BodyWisdomVideos

Maybe homosexuality exists because of an inbalance in male or female hormones in a person's gender. Thats my theory.

[prajnasword]

@BodyWisdomVideos. Yes, I agree. Perhaps I mispoke. It is maladaptive and unhealthy, but I think that the ready availability of porn is endogenous with these other factors, in the sense that many of the same unobservable determinants of the availability of porn are also unobservable (environmental) determinants of the mental health outcomes you point to. In other words, the availability of porn is not a completely exogenous variable.

[NightmareContinues]

@BodyWisdomVideos And elevating your baseline dopamine level is like being on aderal all the time, its awesome