Functional Neuroimaging of Sexual Arousal: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis Comparing Pedophilic to Non-Pedophilic Men

Polisois-Keating, Ariane; Joyal, Christian C.

doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0198-6

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Within-group analyses have shown that regions activated in men with pedophilic disorder in response to VSSc were similar to those activated in teleiophiles in response to VSSa (Poeppl et al, 2011; Schiffer et al, 2008a, Schiffer et al, 2008b). A preliminary meta-analysis (Polisois-Keating and Joyal, 2013) confirmed this result by demonstrating robust activations in both groups within the fusiform gyrus, occipital cortex, cerebellum, anterior cingulate cortex, and substantia nigra in response to the subjects' preferred sexual stimuli. Activated regions were distributed over the four components of the neurophenomenological model of SA, i.e., the cognitive, motivational, emotional and bodily components (Stoléru et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Brain processing of pictures of children in men with pedophilic disorder: A positron emission tomography study

Fonteille

Redouté

Lamothe

et al. 2019

NeuroImage: Clinical

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Although structural and functional neuroimaging techniques have recently been used to investigate the mechanisms of sexual attraction to children, a hallmark of pedophilic disorder, the differences in the processing of child sexual stimuli between men attracted to children and those attracted to adults remain unclear. Here, our purpose was to identify through positron emission tomography the brain responses of 15 male outpatients with pedophilic disorder to validated visual sexual stimuli depicting children (VSSc) and to compare them with 15 male healthy controls matched for sexual orientation (to female or male adults), age, and handedness. The patients' sample comprised both offenders and non-offenders. In response to VSSc, the between-groups analysis showed that activation in the right inferior temporal cortex [Brodmann area (BA) 20] was lower in patients than in controls. Moreover, in patients but not in controls, the presentation of VSSc induced an activation in a more caudal region of the right inferior temporal gyrus (BA 37) and in the left middle occipital gyrus (BA 19). In addition, in patients the level of activation in the caudal right inferior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with ratings of sexual arousal elicited by VSSc, whereas this correlation was negative in BA 20. These results implicate the right inferior temporal gyrus as a possible candidate area mediating sexual arousal in patients with pedophilic disorder and suggest that two of its areas play opposite, i.e., activating and inhibitory, roles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Brain processing of pictures of children in men with pedophilic disorder: A positron emission tomography study

Fonteille

Redouté

Lamothe

et al. 2019

NeuroImage: Clinical

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“…Nevertheless, functional neuroimaging has been able to support neither the association of paedophilic behaviour with frontal lobe disorder [22], nor the hypothesis that paedophilic individuals show deficits in cognitive or perceptual categorization of sexual stimuli [21].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Some results of neuropsychological research and neuroimaging provide evidence of brain abnormalities in individuals with paedophilia [21]. Nevertheless, functional neuroimaging has been able to support neither the association of paedophilic behaviour with frontal lobe disorder [22], nor the hypothesis that paedophilic individuals show deficits in cognitive or perceptual categorization of sexual stimuli [21].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paraphilias

Konrad

Welke

Opitz‐Welke

2015

Current Opinion in Psychiatry

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“…Early pioneer studies reported differences in several sexually relevant brain regions when comparing pedophilic child sexual offenders and healthy subjects [e.g., (77)(78)(79) ]. Recent studies yielded evidence that pedophilic subjects exhibit similar brain activations as healthy subjects while watching their preferred sexual stimulus, indicating that the four-component model of sexual arousal does not only hold true for healthy individuals but also for individuals with a sexual preference for children [for review see: (17,62,63,76,80)]. Supporting these results, Polisois-Keating and colleagues did not find significant differences between the groups in a meta-analysis with 123 subjects (80).…”

Section: Functional Imaging-functional Magnetic Resonance Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies yielded evidence that pedophilic subjects exhibit similar brain activations as healthy subjects while watching their preferred sexual stimulus, indicating that the four-component model of sexual arousal does not only hold true for healthy individuals but also for individuals with a sexual preference for children [for review see: (17,62,63,76,80)]. Supporting these results, Polisois-Keating and colleagues did not find significant differences between the groups in a meta-analysis with 123 subjects (80). Current research also confirms this view, and adds the idea that the right inferior temporal gyrus might be a possible candidate region mediating sexual arousal in patients with pedophilic disorder (81).…”

Section: Functional Imaging-functional Magnetic Resonance Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are There Any Biomarkers for Pedophilia and Sexual Child Abuse? A Review

et al. 2020

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The use of biomarkers in medicine is a common and valuable approach in several clinical fields. Understanding the relationship between measurable biological processes and clinical outcomes not only is indispensable in the face of understanding physiological processes in healthy as well as in diseased organisms but also for understanding and evaluating treatment effects. Therefore, also in the context of forensic psychiatry, biomarkers and their potentially beneficial effects are of growing interest. The objective of this review is to examine if there are biomarkers that may serve as a tool to support diagnostic process, treatment evaluation, and risk assessment of pedophilic individuals and child sexual offenders. In the first part, we present an overview of the current neurobiological, as well as physiological and psychophysiological approaches to characterize pedophilia and child sexual offending. Secondly, we discuss and evaluate the impact of these approaches on the development of biomarkers for diagnosis, therapy, and risk assessment in pedophilic subjects and child sexual offenders. We conclude that a lot of research has already enhanced our neurobiological knowledge about pedophilia and child sexual offending. Although there surely exist promising parameters and approaches, in our view currently none of these is ready yet to serve as a clinically applicable diagnostic, response, or predictive biomarker for pedophilia and child sexual offending. Therefore, further work remains to be done. The development of a composite diagnostic biomarker to assess deviant sexual interest, combining several measures like functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalogram, eye tracking, and behavioral approaches seems to be most promising. A valid and reliable measurement of deviant sexual interest, insensitive to manipulations could significantly support clinical diagnostic process. Similarly, regarding therapy evaluation and risk assessment, a composite biomarker to assess inhibitory control functions seems to be promising. Furthermore, the application of the Research Domain Criteria-approach, a new approach for investigating and classifying mental disorders, offers the possibility to take research to a new level.

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Functional Neuroimaging of Sexual Arousal: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis Comparing Pedophilic to Non-Pedophilic Men

Cited by 22 publications

References 16 publications

Brain processing of pictures of children in men with pedophilic disorder: A positron emission tomography study

Brain processing of pictures of children in men with pedophilic disorder: A positron emission tomography study

Paraphilias

Are There Any Biomarkers for Pedophilia and Sexual Child Abuse? A Review

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