TY - JOUR
T1 - The (in)consistency of changes in brain macrostructure in male paedophiles
T2 - A combined T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging study
AU - Gerwinn, Hannah
AU - Pohl, Alexander
AU - Granert, Oliver
AU - van Eimeren, Thilo
AU - Wolff, Stephan
AU - Jansen, Olav
AU - Deuschl, Günther
AU - Huchzermeier, Christian
AU - Stirn, Aglaja
AU - Siebner, Hartwig Roman
AU - Ponseti, Jorge
N1 - Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/9/1
Y1 - 2015/9/1
N2 - Thus far, four studies have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to test for differences in brain structure between paedophilic (i.e. sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children) and teleiophilic (i.e. sexually attracted to adults) men, revealing divergent results. To re-examine this issue, we acquired high resolution structural T1-weighted and diffusion MRI scans of the brain in 24 paedophilic and 32 teleiophilic men. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of the T1-weighted images and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) of the diffusion tensor imaging data to search for grey and white matter differences between groups. In contrast to previous studies, less than half of the individuals in our paedophilic group had a record of sexual offences against children, as subjects were partially recruited from two outpatient facilities of a child sexual abuse prevention project for self-acknowledged paedophiles. After adjustment for multiple comparisons and controlling for important confounding factors, we did not find any significant grey or white matter differences between the paedophilic and teleiophilic subjects. Together with the inconsistencies in the literature, these results argue against consistent structural differences at the macroanatomical scale between paedophiles and teleiophiles.
AB - Thus far, four studies have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to test for differences in brain structure between paedophilic (i.e. sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children) and teleiophilic (i.e. sexually attracted to adults) men, revealing divergent results. To re-examine this issue, we acquired high resolution structural T1-weighted and diffusion MRI scans of the brain in 24 paedophilic and 32 teleiophilic men. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of the T1-weighted images and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) of the diffusion tensor imaging data to search for grey and white matter differences between groups. In contrast to previous studies, less than half of the individuals in our paedophilic group had a record of sexual offences against children, as subjects were partially recruited from two outpatient facilities of a child sexual abuse prevention project for self-acknowledged paedophiles. After adjustment for multiple comparisons and controlling for important confounding factors, we did not find any significant grey or white matter differences between the paedophilic and teleiophilic subjects. Together with the inconsistencies in the literature, these results argue against consistent structural differences at the macroanatomical scale between paedophiles and teleiophiles.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.07.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.07.002
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26228426
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 68
SP - 246
EP - 253
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
ER -