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Enhanced attentional bias towards sexually explicit cues in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours.


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Mechelmans, Daisy J 
Irvine, Michael 
Banca, Paula 
Porter, Laura 
Mitchell, Simon 

Abstract

Compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) is relatively common and has been associated with significant distress and psychosocial impairments. CSB has been conceptualized as either an impulse control disorder or a non-substance 'behavioural' addiction. Substance use disorders are commonly associated with attentional biases to drug cues which are believed to reflect processes of incentive salience. Here we assess male CSB subjects compared to age-matched male healthy controls using a dot probe task to assess attentional bias to sexually explicit cues. We show that compared to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects have enhanced attentional bias to explicit cues but not neutral cues particularly for early stimuli latency. Our findings suggest enhanced attentional bias to explicit cues possibly related to an early orienting attentional response. This finding dovetails with our recent observation that sexually explicit videos were associated with greater activity in a neural network similar to that observed in drug-cue-reactivity studies. Greater desire or wanting rather than liking was further associated with activity in this neural network. These studies together provide support for an incentive motivation theory of addiction underlying the aberrant response towards sexual cues in CSB.

Description

Keywords

Adult, Compulsive Behavior, Cues, Humans, Male, Motivation, Nerve Net, Photic Stimulation, Sexual Behavior

Journal Title

PLoS One

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1932-6203
1932-6203

Volume Title

9

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Sponsorship
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (via Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) (CLRN 12-13)
Wellcome Trust (093705/Z/10/Z)
Medical Research Council (G0001354)