Pedophilia May Be Caused by Irregular Brain Connections

While traditional thought has believed that pedophilia is the result of abuse or trauma during childhood, new research indicates that the brain structure may be responsible for their urges. Researchers hope that better understanding of the disorder will help doctor's treat pedophilia with greater success. However, they caution this research does not mean that pedophiles are not responsible for their crimes.

"There is nothing in this research that says pedophiles shouldn't be held criminally responsible for their actions," said Dr. James Cantor, lead scientist of the study, "Not being able to choose your sexual interests doesn't mean you can't choose what you do."

The results of the study, which were published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found that pedophiles had less white matter in the brain than other criminals who had committed non-sexual crimes. MRI's and computer analysis of both sets of test subjects were completed, and researchers discovered that the white matter, which is considered to be the wiring system for the brain was considerably less.

These findings are a significant step in proving that pedophilia is caused by faulty brain development, not childhood abuse. Other research by the same team have indicated a host of other possible physical indicators for pedophilia. Pedophiles are more likely to be left handed, have low IQ's, and be shorter than other people according to previous research conducted by the team.

The researchers believe that the results of this study also indicate the importance in looking at how sexual interests are influenced by the brain, not only exposure to trauma or abuse. It is possible that the research could lead to treatments or strategies that could prevent pedophilia from developing.

Current treatments for pedophilia have met with varied success. Commonly, anti-androgenic medications are used to lower testosterone levels and are combined with a form of therapy. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues have less side effects and are longer lasting. These drugs also work by lowering the libido like anti-androgenic medications.

Often these drugs are combined with traditional therapy. For offenders, aversion therapy has been used. In aversion therapy a pedophilia is shocked with electricity when inappropriately fantasizing. However, this treatment is believed to have a very low success rate.

By addressing physical components of pedophiles and knowing precisely why the disorder occurs researchers hope to eliminate these urges and develop more successful treatment methods. Source:

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, "Pedophilia may be the result of faulty brain wiring" Eurekalert