Sexual Addiction: An Overview

Sexual Compulsivity Found in Pornographic Addictions

Pornography is something that has been around for generations, yet the advent of the Internet opened up a whole new channel of anytime access that can lead an addict down a dangerous path. For a large number of individuals, access to porn is about more than just entertainment or the thrill of looking at dirty pictures.

Sexual Compulsivity and STDs: A New Look at the Spread of HIV

A preoccupation with sex can be as debilitating to an individual as any addiction. When that preoccupation is then partnered with action, the individual is at a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A failure to control sexual impulses can lead to an increased likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual acts even if a threat of disease is very real.

Brain Dysfunction May Contribute to Compulsive Sexual Behavior

A new study has found that frontal cortex dysfunction may contribute to sex addiction or compulsive sexual behavior. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a region of the brain that is involved in decision-making and behavioral flexibility, and has been identified as a potential mediator of impulsive behaviors.

Parkinson’s Patients Claim Medication Causes Gambling, Sex Addictions

A group of more than 100 individuals who were prescribed medications for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is filing a class action lawsuit against two Australian pharmaceutical companies who market the medications. The claimants in the case allege that the medications Cabaser, an Australian brand of cabergoline marketed by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company, and Permax, an Australian brand of pergolide marketed by Aspen Pharmacare, caused a range of unrelated addiction disorders, including gambling addiction and sex addictions. Both medications are dopamine receptor agonists that mimic the presence of dopamine in the brain and are used to treat tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease.

Jesse James Enters Rehab for Sex Addiction

On March 30, Monster Garage host and West Coast Choppers owner Jesse James reportedly checked himself into the Sierra Tucson Treatment Center in Arizona to help manage his “personal issues,” possibly sex addiction, in hopes of saving his dilapidated marriage to Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock.

Researcher Says Human Instinct to Blame for Sexual Addiction, Obesity, and More

Groundbreaking new research suggests that the evolutionary impulses that allowed our ancestors to survive on the Savannah are sabotaging us in the modern world. According to Deirdre Barrett, a clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, our lingering primal urges have helped give rise to the obesity epidemic, social isolation, poor risk-assessment tendencies, and sex addiction, among countless other things—all because our biology hasn’t caught up to the way we live.

Warning Signs of Sex Addiction

Addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky explains sex addiction and five main warning signs on DoctorOz.com:

Can a Recovering Sex Addict Have Sex?

When a panel of experts recently joined the New York Times’ Consults blog to answer readers’ questions about sex addiction, one reader asked whether a recovering sex addict can ever have sex again. Sexual addiction therapist Joe Kort responds.

Confessions of a Sex Addict

When Jack Rogers first heard media reports of Tiger Woods’ multiple extramarital affairs, he tallied up the number of women who claimed to have slept with the famous golfer. "I said to myself, ‘My God, that’s some body count,’ " Rogers remembers.