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Study links damage to brain region with sexual addiction

By Staff Writer

Sexual addiction has traditionally been considered a less serious disorder than drug or alcohol abuse. However, recent media focus on celebrities seeking help at addiction treatment centers has spurred increased interest among academics and scientists as well as within the general public.

In a new study, published in Biological Psychiatry, scientists explored the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a region of the brain, in causing an inability to inhibit behaviors despite their adverse consequences.

The study was conducted on laboratory rats with lesions to the mPFC. The researchers - led by Dr. Lique Coolen, Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Motivation and Reward at the University of Western Ontario - observed that both damaged and non-damaged animals initially exhibited normal sexual behavior. However, after conditioning that was meant to teach them a negative association with sex - by injecting medicine that causes nausea after mating - only the damaged rats continued to engage in sexual behavior, while the healthy subjects ceased mating, according to PsychCentral.com.

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health says that between 3 and 5 percent of the U.S. population suffers from sex addiction and compulsivity. The organization admits this may be a conservative estimate because many people do not seek treatment at rehab facilities or discuss their problems with a healthcare provider.