How Porn Can Change the Brain

We’ve all heard the phrase: “It’s just like riding a bike.” That phrase is supposed to remind us that our old skills are never more than a few minutes of practice away.

Indeed, if you’ve ever geared up for a ride after many bike-less years or picked up an old musical instrument, you know that beneath all of the awkwardness and rust, your old skills are waiting there, locked in your so-called “muscle memory,” waiting to be dusted off and taken for a spin.

But how does this actually work? Why can we pick up old skills after such little practice?

It stems from the brain’s remarkable ability to change itself, known as “neuroplasticity.”1

The amazing plastic brain

At its most basic level, neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change. When you learned to ride a bike, your brain didn’t just logically process the steps involved in riding a bike; your brain literally, physically changed itself into a brain built for bike riding. Like playdough, it can mold and shape itself as it responds to outside forces and experiences.2

When we engage in an activity—particularly a pleasurable activity, particularly if it involves repetition and intense focus—our brains alter themselves to be better and more efficient at doing that activity the next time.3

Our brains create what are known as “neural pathways.” The more we engage in an activity, the stronger the pathways associated with that activity become.456

Once formed, those pathways can become remarkably long-lasting and resilient. Pathways neglected or ignored, even for years, are still there, ready to be revitalized.7

Hence the saying, “It’s like riding a bike.”

Delta-FosB: the chemical with the catchy name

But what is a brain pathway? Is some little road crew clearing brush and blazing trails in your brain? Yes—kind of.

What’s doing the trailblazing work in your brain is a little crew of brain chemicals, one of which is Delta-FosB. Your brain is made up of neurons that communicate with each other through synapses. Delta-FosB is one of the chemicals that creates neural circuits—i.e., “pathways”—to help those neurons communicate more quickly and efficiently.8

Basically, what you experience as getting better and better at something is your brain “rewiring” itself to become faster and more efficient at sending the same messages between the same neurons.

As we said, this process is greatly accelerated when you’re engaged in something pleasurable that entails a lot of repetition and a high degree of focus—a state sometimes referred to as being in “flow,” which is just a way of indicating that you’re not just learning something, you’re highly focused on something, and you’re enjoying the experience of being highly focused.910

Whether you’re learning to play your favorite song on the guitar, practicing your jump shot, or perfecting that TikTok dance, the chemicals in your brain are hard at work reinforcing those pathways. Unfortunately, the same process of neuroplasticity happens when you practice unhealthy behaviors, too.

Throughout our Get The Facts articles, we discuss the ways pornography can be considered addictive—how consuming porn can lead to compulsive cravings and behavior, in some cases similar to those associated with substance abuse.

Related: How Porn Can Affect the Brain Like a Drug

We’ve also discussed how the brain changes—about the role of dopamine and how the reward center can be “hijacked.”111213

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at another aspect of the rewiring that occurs when we look at porn, and that’s going to require us to learn another term from brain science: supernormal stimulus.14

“Supernormal?”

On its surface, “supernormal” is, at the very least, an oxymoron and perhaps also the name of some very vanilla superhero who wears a lot of beige.

“Supernormal stimulus” sounds like a good phrase to describe your parents’ favorite radio station or a bran muffin. But the meaning is the opposite, and that name makes perfect sense. “Supernormal” refers to an exaggerated (i.e. “super”) version, or amount, of a “normal” thing and was coined by a researcher named Nikolaas Tinbergen.1516

In his most famous experiment, Tinbergen tested whether overwhelming a specific stimulus could change behavior. He created cardboard constructions of butterflies attracted to their mates by color and movement. He then painted these cardboard butterflies with more intense colorings and designed the cutouts to move more regularly. When male butterflies were introduced to the cardboard, they did indeed try to mate with the fakes. Even with actual female butterflies introduced to the same area, the male butterflies continued to ignore them. They continued to prefer the intensely colored, regular-moving cardboard butterflies, even with living, breathing females close by.17

Related: How Porn Can Hurt a Consumer’s Partner

Tinbergen showed that when there is a preprogrammed, biological reaction to a particular stimulus, that stimulus can be overwhelmed and warped by artificial means. And just like butterflies, human brains have built-in physiological responses to certain stimuli.18 We feel hunger when we see food. Feel sympathetic and protective of things that appear helpless and small. We are drawn to certain physical traits we consider attractive.

None of this is new information. Advertisers and filmmakers have understood it for years. It’s the science behind your favorite photographs, illustrations, and movies. This explains why they appeal to you with such power. But remember! The fact that the butterflies were drawn to the fakes is only half of Tinbergen’s experiment. The second half is the scary part. Even with real female butterflies introduced into the environment, the males persisted in attempting to mate with the cardboard decoys.1920

Just like the butterflies, if something artificially overwhelms one of these stimuli consistently, our expectations will change. It isn’t just that our brains prefer the supernormal stimulus; they can change themselves to expect it, and the old normal stimulus (also known as “real life”) suddenly seems less attractive by comparison.2122

Have you ever been bored by an “action” movie from 50 years ago? Or been surprised that something was considered beautiful in another time? If you’ve ever participated in a classroom discussion about how media can negatively impact our expectations around body image, chances are you were discussing supernormal stimuli without even realizing it. Our brains change themselves.23

Our expectations, responses, and preferences can adapt to exaggerated stimuli. This leads to decreased interest or boredom with things that once seemed more exciting.24

Related: How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

Similarly, pornography can shape how we view sexual situations by overwhelming our brain’s natural processes.252627

It can take our brains’ natural stimuli—our desire for intimacy and connection, our longing to feel solid or desirable in our relationships, our interest in a particular feature or activity—and give us more quantity, more exaggerated, and more “supernormal” versions of that thing until it can override what we think is normal, warp what we perceive as exciting, and make real intimacy seem less interesting by comparison.28

This is why Doctors Simone Kühn and Jürgen Gallinat said that pornography affects the brain through an “intense stimulation of our reward system,” ultimately making “pornography consumption more rewarding.”29

Like it or not, porn consumption entails pleasure, focus, and repetition. These factors create the perfect conditions for Delta-FosB build-up and the formation of long-lasting pathways in the brain. It can also provide an overabundance of supernormal stimuli that can completely rewire what we find arousing and what we desire and expect from sexual intimacy. These changes in our expectations can have tremendous implications for how we view others and how we view relationships.

Related: How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love and Intimacy

Like riding a bike, these pathways can be resilient and difficult to rewire, but hope remains. Research and many experiences demonstrate that individuals can manage and mostly reverse the harmful effects of porn.3031 In fact, even in cases of serious drug and other addictions, research shows that the brain can heal over time with sustained effort.323334 Research also indicates that, while guilt can motivate healthy change, shame actually fuels problematic porn habits.35 So if you’re trying to give up porn, be kind to yourself and be patient with your progress.

Like anything, it takes time for the brain to recover. However, daily efforts make a big difference in the long run. Think of it like a muscle that gets bigger and stronger the more you use it. The longer you stay away from porn, the easier it is to do so. All it takes is practice.