Brains of Pedophiles Respond Differently to Children’s Faces: Study

Pedophiles are attracted to children's faces due to brain abnormalities, according to a study.

Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder where an individual has sexual preference for children. Recently, German researchers identified brain variations that prompt sexual desire toward children. Experts at the University of Kiel in Germany used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to observe brain activities of 56 adults while they were shown images of young girls and boys' faces. Almost 23 of the total participants were pedophiles.

The scans revealed activation in occipital area and putamen-brain regions related to facial processing and sexual arousal when the pedophile subjects looked at the children's faces. In participants who were sexually attracted to adults of either sex, the same areas showed stimulation by looking at adults' images.

The researchers found no differences in the brain responses in all subjects expect that pedophiles were exclusively drawn to sexually immature children.

"The same network is activated by the sexually preferred face, but the main difference is that in pedophiles that network is abnormally tuned to sexual immaturity," wrote the authors, reports the Independent.

These findings can be used to diagnose the condition at an early age by studying the behavior and sexual urges of individuals to avoid incidences of childhood sexual trauma.

"We could start to look at the onset of pedophilia, which is probably in puberty at about 12 or 14 years," said Jorge Ponseti, study author from the University of Kiel's Medical School, reports the Independent.

So far, psychology has not been able to classify pedophilia as an illness or a mere sexual orientation.

"There is never any excuse for sexually abusing a child, but any research that could help improve child protection practice is welcome," said Jon Brown from the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

"For example, understanding why some people have a sexual interest in children could help to develop new treatment programs that aim to control and change a pedophile's behavior. It's also important to remember that not everyone who has a sexual interest in children will go on to act on their impulses."

In previous trials carried out in Canada, France and Scandinavia, psychologists found that pedophiles have below average intelligence, are shorter and left handed. In addition, the scientists also noticed less amount of white matter in pedophiles' brains.

The current findings are available online in the journal Biology Letters.

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