@article{61dada5c2a6b477b868462de7d0c7012,
title = "Basic Science and Neurobiological Research: Potential Relevance to Sexual Compulsivity",
abstract = "One should not approach the issue of human sexual behavior without at least some appreciation of moral values and scientific research. When a person seems to be so driven that it becomes difficult to master erotic desires and he or she experiences difficulty serving his or her own best long-term interests, the concept of sexual compulsivity seems to be relevant. A better understanding of any associated neuropathologies may help to facilitate future treatments and public acceptance. In time, increased knowledge about the precise workings of the brain in reciprocally initiating and sustaining the sexual interests of the mind may facilitate a much clearer appreciation of the issues at hand.",
keywords = "Endorphins, Opiate receptors, Paraphilias, Sexual addiction, Sexual compulsivity, Sexual drive",
author = "Berlin, {Fred S.}",
note = "Funding Information: That study, which was supported in part by a research grant from the Guggenheim Foundation, provided evidence in seven of eight investigational participants of a statistically significant release of internally produced opiates during sexual arousal in three brain regions. 95 Those three regions were the cingulate, the temporal cortex, and the frontal cortex. Significant opiate release was not observed in the caudate, the amygala, the thalamus, or the parietal cortex during sexual arousal, although all four of those regions, like the other three, contain high concentrations of opiate receptors. That research also documented a heightened synchronicity of opiate activity within the brain over time during sexual arousal. Four men who were unable to achieve erotic arousal within the study protocol showed no evidence of a heightened release of internally produced opiates when the results of their two PET scans were compared. Although this type of research requires additional replication and follow-up, it does demonstrate an investigational method that may help to further elucidate addictive-like neurobiologic changes within the brain possibly related to sexual compulsivity. ",
year = "2008",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1016/j.psc.2008.07.003",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "31",
pages = "623--642",
journal = "Psychiatric Clinics of North America",
issn = "0193-953X",
publisher = "W.B. Saunders Ltd",
number = "4",
}