Brain response to visual sexual stimuli in homosexual pedophiles

Schiffer, B., Krueger, T., Paul, T., de Greiff, A., Forsting, M., Leygraf, N., & ... Gizewski, E. (2008). Brain response to visual sexual stimuli in homosexual pedophiles. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 33(1), 23-33. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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            Chapter 12 of the text includes a mesh of topics involving the explanation and motivation of behavior, the role of specific brain systems in controlling regulatory and nonregulatory behavior, and emotion and rewards. Within the discussion of the brain’s role in controlling nonregulatory behavior, the text includes a discussion of the role played by the hypothalamus, the amygdala, and sexual hormones in sexual orientation and sexual identity -- a discussion that particularly sparked my interest. So, I decided to search for specific research in the neural literature in this area. I found an especially interesting experiment that investigated the differing brain activations in homosexual males from homosexual pedophiles. Researchers divided the participants into two groups: pedophile forensic patients who claim to be exclusively attracted to boys, and homosexual males as a control group. They showed the participants sexually stimulating and emotionally neutral photos and measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging. They tested sexual arousal on a subjective rating scale. Brain areas responsible for processing visual cues containing emotional components, such as the prefrontal cortex, were active when shown the sexually stimulating photos in both groups of participants. Also, the thalamus, globus pallidus, and striatum showed increased activity during the viewing of the sexually stimulating photos in the pedophile group. From lecture and the text, we know that these areas are involved in sexual arousal. Interestingly, though, the homosexual controls did not show this difference in activity levels, and showed a somewhat weaker neural response. The researchers cite the importance of this finding because these same areas are involved in reward and addictive behaviors. Understanding the differences in brain functioning of pedophiles might lead to better forms of therapy and treatment for individuals who cannot control these pedophilic urges.