Study Uncovers Brain Changes in Offending Pedophiles

Summary: A new study reveals certain brain alterations could be present in sex offenders, with differences in those pedophiles who offend compared to those who can control their desires to offend.

Source: Wiley.

New research reveals that certain alterations in the brain may be present in pedophiles, with differences between hands-on offenders and those who have not sexually offended against children.

For the study, researchers conducted imaging tests of the brains of pedophiles with and without a history of hand-on sexual offences against children, as well as healthy non-offending controls, during an assessment of what’s called a response-inhibition task. Activation patterns in certain regions of the brain distinguished between offending and non-offending pedophiles. The differences suggest that non-offending pedophiles might deploy a compensatory mechanism in the brain that provides greater self-control.

The findings indicate that interventions aimed at fostering basic inhibitory control abilities might help prevent child sex offences.

“In the community, pedophilia is often equated with child molestation but it is evident that pedophilia is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to engage in child sexual offending. This means that not all individuals with a diagnosis of pedophilia commit child sexual offences, just as many persons who sexually offend against children are not pedophilic,” said Dr. Christian Kärgel, lead author of the Human Brain Mapping study. “Our finding of differences in the neuroimaging profile during the assessment of a response-inhibition task underlines the importance to distinguish between pedophilic hands-on offenders and those who have not sexually offended against children in terms of separate clinical entities.”

Image shows a prison cell.
The findings indicate that interventions aimed at fostering basic inhibitory control abilities might help prevent child sex offences. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.

The study is part of a large multisite collaborative project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany examining the neural mechanisms associated with pedophilia and sexual offending against children. “Though we are also interested to improve our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying such deviant sexual preferences per se, results of the present study improve our understanding of the mechanisms that may promote or preserve pedophiles from becoming a perpetrator,” said senior author Dr. Boris Schiffer. “Such information is important in order to develop and evaluate effective abuse-preventive interventions, in particular for pedophiles who already engaged in child sexual offending or those at risk.”

About this neuroscience research article

Source: Penny Smith – Wiley
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract for “Evidence for superior neurobiological and behavioral inhibitory control abilities in non-offending as compared to offending pedophiles” by Christian Kärgel, Claudia Massau, Simone Weiß, Martin Walter, Viola Borchardt, Tillmann H.C. Krueger, Gilian Tenbergen, Jonas Kneer, Matthias Wittfoth, Alexander Pohl, Hannah Gerwinn, Jorge Ponseti, Till Amelung, Klaus M. Beier, Sebastian Mohnke, Henrik Walter, and Boris Schiffer in Human Brain Mapping. Published online October 21 2016 doi:10.1002/hbm.23443

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Wiley. “Study Uncovers Brain Changes in Offending Pedophiles.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 24 October 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/crime-brain-changes-5339/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Wiley. (2016, October 24). Study Uncovers Brain Changes in Offending Pedophiles. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved October 24, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/crime-brain-changes-5339/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Wiley. “Study Uncovers Brain Changes in Offending Pedophiles.” https://neurosciencenews.com/crime-brain-changes-5339/ (accessed October 24, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Evidence for superior neurobiological and behavioral inhibitory control abilities in non-offending as compared to offending pedophiles

Neurobehavioral models of pedophilia and child sexual offending suggest a pattern of temporal and in particular prefrontal disturbances leading to inappropriate behavioral control and subsequently an increased propensity to sexually offend against children. However, clear empirical evidence for such mechanisms is still missing. Using a go/nogo paradigm in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we compared behavioral performance and neural response patterns among three groups of men matched for age and IQ: pedophiles with (N = 40) and without (N = 37) a history of hands-on sexual offences against children as well as healthy non-offending controls (N = 40). As compared to offending pedophiles, non-offending pedophiles exhibited superior inhibitory control as reflected by significantly lower rate of commission errors. Group-by-condition interaction analysis also revealed inhibition-related activation in the left posterior cingulate and the left superior frontal cortex that distinguished between offending and non-offending pedophiles, while no significant differences were found between pedophiles and healthy controls. Both areas showing distinct activation pattern among pedophiles play a critical role in linking neural networks that relate to effective cognitive functioning. Data therefore suggest that heightened inhibition-related recruitment of these areas as well as decreased amount of commission errors is related to better inhibitory control in pedophiles who successfully avoid committing hands-on sexual offences against children.

“Evidence for superior neurobiological and behavioral inhibitory control abilities in non-offending as compared to offending pedophiles” by Christian Kärgel, Claudia Massau, Simone Weiß, Martin Walter, Viola Borchardt, Tillmann H.C. Krueger, Gilian Tenbergen, Jonas Kneer, Matthias Wittfoth, Alexander Pohl, Hannah Gerwinn, Jorge Ponseti, Till Amelung, Klaus M. Beier, Sebastian Mohnke, Henrik Walter, and Boris Schiffer in Human Brain Mapping. Published online October 21 2016 doi:10.1002/hbm.23443

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