Are Some People Genetically Wired to Want More Sex?

Researchers from UCLA have found a link between the amount of sexual partners someone has and how much they like to have sex. Their findings were published in the scientific journal of Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. According to the study, some people are driven to seek out more sex and related activities.

But does this research study shed any light on sex addiction?

When one of the photographs stimulated a given subject, researchers could see the electrical activity happening in portions of their brains.The test involved an electroencephalogram (EEG) of the brains of psychology students as they were exposed to images. An EEG is a medical test that uses small discs attached to the head to measure electric activity in the brain. When one of the photographs stimulated a given subject, researchers could see the electrical activity happening in portions of their brains. Many of the pictures had nothing to do with sex. Some were romantic in nature such as hand holding, while others were people involved in sexual acts.

In the test, 62 people between the ages of 18 and 40 were analyzed, including 40 men and 22 women. Before the EEG they filled out a questionnaire which included their number of sexual partners in the past year. There was no difference between how easily aroused the men and women were in general.

This drives the question of nurture versus nature in hypersexual tension disorders, more commonly known as sex addiction. It doesn’t take a genius to see that people who enjoy sex are having more of it. Sex can become problematic when sought out in an obsessive-compulsive way. As well as the health risks, this can lead to sexual harassment or stalking behavior, public indecency, rape and pedophilia. Many sex addicts have a history of being sexually abused as children.

Also Read: How Does Treatment Work for Sex Addiction?