mercredi 3 avril 2013

Is pedophilia a wrong brain wiring?

We are currently unveiling the brain mechanisms of human behaviours. The old paradigm of nurture vs nature will be revisited in the perspective of brain wiring based on brain imaging.
As we deal with basic behaviours like sexual arousal the wiring concerned is in the depth of our brain. just the contrary of literature preferences for instance.


1/ Brief Report

Paedophilia is Linked to Reduced Activation in Hypothalamus and Lateral Prefrontal Cortex During Visual Erotic Stimulation

  • a Department of Psychiatry, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
  • b Department of Neurology II, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
  • c State Hospital for Forensic Psychiatry of Saxonia Anhaltina, Uchtspringe, Germany
  • d Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Medical School, University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Background

Although paedophilia is of high public concern, little is known about underlying neural mechanisms. Although pedophilic patients are sexually attracted to prepubescent children, they show no sexual interest toward adults. This study aimed to investigate the neural correlates of deficits of sexual and emotional arousal in paedophiles.

Methods

Thirteen pedophilic patients and 14 healthy control subjects were tested for differential neural activity during visual stimulation with emotional and erotic pictures with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

Regions showing differential activations during the erotic condition comprised the hypothalamus, the periaqueductal gray, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the latter correlating with a clinical measure. Alterations of emotional processing concerned the amygdala–hippocampus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.

Conclusions

Hypothesized regions relevant for processing of erotic stimuli in healthy individuals showed reduced activations during visual erotic stimulation in pedophilic patients. This suggests an impaired recruitment of key structures that might contribute to an altered sexual interest of these patients toward adults.

2/  2013 Apr;15(4):351. doi: 10.1007/s11920-013-0351-x.

Neuroimaging in pedophilia.

Wiebking C, Northoff G.

Source

Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Royal Ottawa Healthcare, Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada.

Abstract

Paraphilia is a set of disorders characterized by abnormal sexual desires. Perhaps most discussed amongst them, pedophilia is a complex interaction of disturbances of the emotional, cognitive and sexual experience. Using new imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, neural correlates of emotional, sexual and cognitive abnormalities and interactions have been investigated. As described on the basis of current research, altered patterns of brain activity, especially in the frontal areas of the brain, are seen in pedophilia. Building on these results, the analysis of neural correlates of impaired psychological functions opens the opportunity to further explore sexual deviances, which may contribute ultimately to the development of tools for risk assessment, classification methods and new therapeutic approaches.


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