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Watching pornography could shrink parts of the brain linked to reward and motivation.

This is according to a German study that found men who watched a lot of porn tend to be lazier.

The results provide the first direct link between pornography and a lack of motivation following sexual stimulation.

Watching pornography could be shrink parts of the brain linked to reward and motivation.This is according to a German study that found men who watched a lot of porn tended to be lazier.The results provide the first direct link between pornography and a lack of motivation following sexual stimulation

For the study, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin recruited 64 healthy men between the ages of 21 and 45 years and asked them questions about their porn-watching habits.

They also took images of the men's brains to measure volume and to see how their brains reacted to pornographic pictures.

'We found that the volume of the so-called striatum, a brain region that has been associated with reward processing and motivated behaviour was smaller the more pornography consumption the participants reported,' said lead researcher Dr Simone Kühn.

'Moreover we found that another brain region, that is also part of the striatum that is active when people see sexual stimuli, shows less activation the more pornography participants consumed,' she added.

The researchers found that the connection between the striatum and prefrontal cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain associated with behaviour and decision making, worsened with increased porn watching.

The scientists, however, added they could not say for certain whether watching porn was the reason behind the decrease in brain matter.

It's not clear, for example, whether watching porn leads to brain changes or whether people born with certain brain types watch more porn, said Simone Kühn, the study's lead author.

The researchers, however, added they could not say for certain whether watching porn was the reason behind the decrease in brain matter. It's not clear, for example, whether watching porn leads to brain changes or whether people born with certain brain types watch more porn, said Simone Kühn, the study's lead author

Tthe striatum (shown in red), which is linked to motivation, was smaller the more pornography consumption the participants reported

'Unfortunately we cannot answer this question based on the results of the present study,' said Dr Kühn said.

Because the study can't prove that porn caused the changes to the brain, Dr Kühn said it's not possible to say whether watching porn is actually harmful.

'Everything is going to be bad in excess and it's probably not terrible in moderation,' Dr Gregory Tau of the Columbia University in New York said.

Dr Tau, who was not involved with the study, agreed that more research should be done in this area and that longer studies would be need to find out if porn leads to brain changes.

'It is possible that there are individuals with a certain kind of brain that are more susceptible to these kinds of behaviours,' he said.

'Or, it's possible it's the excessive use [of porn] that's perpetuating itself to causing brain changes. Or, it could be both.'

Dr Kühn added other behaviours, such as driving a taxi, are linked to changes to brain size and functioning.

'Basically everything that people do very frequently can shape their brain structure and function,' she said.