Ventral Striatal Reactivity in Compulsive Sexual Behaviors

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Compulsive Sexual Behaviors (CSB) are a significant reason for seeking treatment.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed including CSB in the ICD-11.
• Neuroimaging studies increasingly explore brain mechanisms in CSB, comparing them to gambling and substance use disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate ventral striatal reactivity in CSB.
• To determine if CSB findings support Incentive Salience Theory (IST) or Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS).

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of neuroimaging studies on CSB (2005-2018).
• Searched databases: Pubmed, EBSCO, and Google Scholar.
• Analyzed studies examining ventral striatal activity related to erotic cues/rewards.

Main Results:

• Nine relevant studies were identified.
• Four studies investigated ventral striatal activation during erotic cue/reward processing.
• Three of these studies reported increased ventral striatal reactivity, supporting IST.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest CSB is associated with heightened ventral striatal reactivity during anticipation of erotic stimuli.
• Current evidence supports the Incentive Salience Theory framework for CSB.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the neurobiological underpinnings of CSB.