CAMBRIDGE, England – Watching pornography can provide some viewers with the same high drug addicts experience from a hit of their favorite illicit substance, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

The study involved an extremely small group of male volunteer subjects — 19 in all — for whom compulsive sexual behavior exerted a significant effect on their lives. Researchers defined “sexual compulsion” as “an obsession with sexual thoughts, feelings or behavior which they are unable to control.”

Control groups comprising an equal number of healthy patients and drug addicts also were examined.

The healthy and “sex-addicted” groups were shown short videos of explicit porn and sports while their brain activity was monitored by functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures blood-oxygen levels. The drug-addicted group substituted videos of people taking drugs instead of sexually explicit content.

“The patients in our trial were all people who had substantial difficulties controlling their sexual behavior, and this was having significant consequences for them, affecting their lives and relationships,” lead researcher Dr. Valerie Voon told the Daily Mail. “In many ways, they show similarities in their behaviour to patients with drug addictions. We wanted to see if these similarities were reflected in brain activity, too.”

They were. The fMRIs of those affected by sexual compulsion and drug addiction exhibited increased activity in three brain regions: the ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate and amygdala. The first region processes reward and motivation, the second is responsible for anticipating rewards and establishing cravings and the third is the seat of emotional behavior and processing significant events.

“There are clear differences in brain activity between patients who have compulsive sexual behavior and healthy volunteers,” Voon revealed. “These differences mirror those of drug addicts.

“Whilst these findings are interesting, it’s important to note they could not be used to diagnose the condition [of sexual compulsivity],” she added. “Nor does our research necessarily provide evidence that these individuals are addicted to porn — or that porn is inherently addictive. Much more research is required to understand this relationship between compulsive sexual behavior and drug addiction.”

Dr. John Williams, chief of Neuroscience and Mental Health at Cambridge’s Wellcome Trust, said the study, plus additional research, may lead to better ways to treat a variety of maladaptive behaviors.

“Compulsive behaviors, including watching porn to excess, over-eating and gambling, are increasingly common,” he said. “This study takes us a step further toward finding out why we carry on repeating behaviors we know are potentially damaging to us.

“Whether we are tackling sex addiction, substance abuse or eating disorders, knowing how best, and when, to intervene in order to break the cycle is an important goal of this research,” he concluded.

[SIZE=1]Image: fMRIs showing activity in the brain of a person identified as “sexually compulsive.” The top row documents the subject watching explicit pornography. The middle row documents brain activity while watching erotic material, and the bottom row documents exciting sports.[/SIZE]