Amanda Marcotte: No, Porn Addiction Is Not Really A Thing

[stevenleser]

16. Agreed. I think you can become addicted to a lot of different things. It's just not as easy as with

substances that more directly stimulate pleasure centers of the brain.

The idea of being addicted to sex or porn or various other pleasureable activities should be, imho, non-controversial after recent discoveries about the physical characteristics of gambling addiction:

Research to date shows that pathological gamblers and drug addicts share many of the same genetic predispositions for impulsivity and reward seeking. Just as substance addicts require increasingly strong hits to get high, compulsive gamblers pursue ever riskier ventures. Likewise, both drug addicts and problem gamblers endure symptoms of withdrawal when separated from the chemical or thrill they desire. And a few studies suggest that some people are especially vulnerable to both drug addiction and compulsive gambling because their reward circuitry is inherently underactive—which may partially explain why they seek big thrills in the first place.

Even more compelling, neuroscientists have learned that drugs and gambling alter many of the same brain circuits in similar ways. These insights come from studies of blood flow and electrical activity in people's brains as they complete various tasks on computers that either mimic casino games or test their impulse control. In some experiments, virtual cards selected from different decks earn or lose a player money; other tasks challenge someone to respond quickly to certain images that flash on a screen but not to react to others.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-gets-addicted-to-gambling/?page=1