Electrophysiological evidence of enhanced early attentional bias toward sexual images in individuals with tendencies toward cybersex addiction

Abstract

Background and aims Attentional bias is a key factor in addictive behavior maintenance. However, whether attentional bias has a similar effect on cybersex addiction is unclear. We investigated differences in the attentional processing of sexually explicit images between individuals with high tendencies toward cybersex addiction (TCA) versus low tendencies using behavioral and electrophysiological indices. Methods Twenty-eight individuals with high TCA and 29 with low TCA performed an addiction Stroop task comprising sexual and neutral images in colored frames. Participants were asked to respond to the frame color and not the image contents, and behavioral and event-related potentials were recorded. Results Behaviorally, an addiction Stroop interference effect was found in the high TCA group, as shown by the longer reaction times to judge the frame colors of sexual images. Electrophysiologically, a P200 (150–220 ms) enhancement was present in response to sexual images compared with neutral ones, which was absent in the low TCA group. The event-related potential correlates with the addiction Stroop interference effect, indicating that the attentional bias underlying the addiction Stroop interference operates at an automatic level. A general, sexually related bias was found in the late positive potential (300–700 ms) amplitude, although between-group differences were insignificant. Discussion and conclusions These findings indicate that sexual stimuli grab the attentional resources of individuals with high TCA at early automatic stages of attentional processing. Increased cue reactivity to sexual stimuli may contribute to pornographic consumption and play a crucial role in sustaining problematic excessive use of online pornography.

Electrophysiological Evidence of Enhanced Processing of Novel Pornographic Images in Individuals With Tendencies Toward Problematic Internet Pornography Use

“…Currently, PIPU is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, and there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria. Thus, participants were selected based on the top and bottom quartiles of PIPUS scores (e.g., Wang et al, 2021 ). According to this classification, 60 participants (30 in high tendencies toward PIPU group and 30 in low tendencies toward PIPU group) volunteered to attend the experiments.…”

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that PIPU is analogous to drug addiction or other behavioral addictions ( Seok and Sohn, 2015 ; Kowalewska et al, 2018 ; Stark et al, 2018 ). For example, PIPU is related to cue-reactivity for sex-related stimuli ( Brand et al, 2011 ; Voon et al, 2014 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), and this mechanism is also present in the development and maintenance of substance-related addictions (e.g., Skinner and Aubin, 2010 ). Moreover, neural activation toward sex- and drug-related stimuli involves similar brain networks, presumably modulated by the mesolimbic dopamine circuits ( Brand et al, 2016 ; Gola and Draps, 2018 ).…”

Reward Responsiveness, Learning, and Valuation Implicated in Problematic Pornography Use — a Research Domain Criteria Perspective

“…Considering the construct of initial response to reward, we included fMRI [37•, 38, 39] and behavioral [40][41][42] studies using passive viewing paradigms, i.e., studies in which participants were asked only to view the sexual stimuli, sometimes with subsequent ratings, but without other behavioral tasks during the experiment. We further included behavioral studies using an approach-avoidance task (AAT; [43][44][45][46]), a dot probe task [47,48], and a stroop task [49,50].…”

“…The attentional bias for sexual words measured via reaction time in a stroop task [49] was also found to be positively related to a dimensional indicator of PPU. Finally, in a more recent stroop task using sexual images with colored frames, Wang et al found that a group with high scores on a PPU measure displayed a greater attentional bias towards sexual images via reaction time interference effects and event-related potentials compared to a group with low PPU scores [50].…”

Approach–Avoidance pattern of attentional bias in individuals with high tendencies toward problematic Internet pornography use

“…There is growing evidence that PIPU resembles substance use disorder ( 9 , 10 ). For instance, previous studies have identified cue reactivity and craving as an important mechanism of PIPU ( 11 – 13 ) equally important for the development and maintenance of substance dependence ( 14 ). In addition, the neural processing of sexual- and substance-related cues relies on identical brain networks, possibly regulated by the mesolimbic dopamine system ( 15 , 16 ).…”