Nicole Prause

Dr. Nicole Prause is a neuroscientist and licensed psychologist specializing in human sexuality research, sexual psychophysiology, pornography effects, and compulsive sexual behavior. Prause earned her doctorate at Indiana University Bloomington, with joint supervision by the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, focusing on neuroscience and statistics. She completed a clinical internship in neuropsychological assessment and behavioral medicine at the VA Boston Healthcare System's Psychology Internship Training Program and a research fellowship in couples' treatment for alcoholism at Harvard University.

Prause began her academic career as a tenure-track faculty member at Idaho State University and later became a research scientist at the Mind Research Network, a neuroimaging facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was elected as a full member of the International Academy of Sex Research and held a research scientist position at the University of California, Los Angeles, within the David Geffen School of Medicine, where she was promoted to associate research scientist. In response to institutional attitudes toward sex research and safety concerns, Prause founded Liberos LLC, a private research institute and biotechnology company funded by government and private grants.

Prause's research focuses on empirical investigations into pornography's effects on sexual function, relationships, and the brain. Her work employs EEG, physiological measures, and controlled behavioral methods to examine claims about pornography addiction, contributing to debates in clinical psychology, public policy, and media. Prause was the lead author of the first study to use brain stimulation, specifically Theta Burst Stimulation, to alter sexual responsiveness, suggesting new possibilities for interventions targeting sex drive. She has also conducted research on the neuroscience of orgasm and its potential impact on physical and mental health, including inflammation and sleep.

Prause co-authored a study on the neurophysiology of pornography addiction, concluding that hypersexuality may be better understood as a non-pathological variation of high sexual desire. Her research examines out-of-control sexual behavior and questions diagnostic frameworks that may pathologize healthy sexuality. She also co-authored the study "Iatrogenic Effects of Reboot/NoFap on Public Health: A Preregistered Survey Study," which explored potential harms from abstinence-based interventions promoted by online communities for so-called pornography addiction, finding associations with increased reports of erectile concerns and anxiety.

Prause is a public advocate for science-based approaches to human sexuality and has appeared in media education about sexual science, including PBS Nova's "Secret Lives of Scientists," the Today show's "Brain Power" series, and "After Porn Ends 2." With training as both a scientist and clinician, Prause works to develop and promote evidence-based therapies for improving patient care and communicates her findings to broad audiences in the field of sexuality research.