Some findings also suggest that Internet pornography consumption might represent a defense mechanism against excessive stress, which enables to cope with stressful events, helps in mood regulation, and decreases depression and anxiety. A significant postulate of this commentary is that all addictions create, in addition to chemical changes in the brain, anatomical and pathological changes which result in various manifestations of cerebral dysfunction collectively labeled hypofrontal syndromes. In these syndromes, the underlying defect, reduced to its simplest description, is damage to the “braking system” of the brain. They are well known to clinical neuroscientists, especially neurologists and neurosurgeons, for they ... Frequent and excessive pornography consumption can have long-lasting effects on the brain’s dopamine system. Research suggests that prolonged exposure to pornography can lead to changes in dopamine receptor sensitivity. Frequent pornography users showed stronger brain connectivity in the prefrontal cortex, particularly in areas tied to executive control, emotion regulation, and decision-making. These same areas are often hyperactive in individuals with substance addictions.
