Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Sex-Obsessed Culture Can Damage Young Brains, Says Doctor

By Pete Winn
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
November 13, 2007

CNSNews.com) - Critics have long debated the effect on society of overtly sexualized images from television, movies and music. But one medical educator and physician has reached a conclusion: He thinks that because of what we have learned scientifically about the brain and the biochemistry behind sexuality, our sex-obsessed culture may be "warping" the minds of young people.

In an exclusive interview with Cybercast News Service, Gary Rose, M.D., president of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Tex., talked about his forthcoming book on the neurochemistry of sex. (The Medical Institute for Sexual Health describes itself as a non-profit group founded to confront the global epidemics of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.)

CNSNews.com: Your new book, in part, looks at what science shows concerning the development of the brain over time. What have you found?

Dr. Rose: For instance, we now know, through MRI studies -- magnetic resonance imaging studies that are not harmful to do -- that the pre-frontal cortex, the front part of the brain, is the last part of the brain to mature. That is the part of the brain that deals with long-term judgment and delayed gratification. By scanning multiple brains, we have shown it really is not mature until about age 25.

Guess what? As a culture, we've known that for a long time. My daughter has her master's degree but could not rent a car until she was 25. My son's car insurance rate dropped substantially at age 25. Their brains finally matured so that they could make good decisions, and it took that long for them to no longer be considered risky to car rental companies and insurance companies. We can actually demonstrate that with regard to MRI studies.
CNSNews.com: What about when people have sex?

For the rest of the story, please read here: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200711/CUL20071113b.html