title: Response inhibition in pedophilia: an FMRI pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The failure to inhibit pleasurable but inappropriate urges is associated with frontal lobe pathology and has been suggested as a possible cause of pedophilic behavior. However, imaging and neuropsychological findings about frontal pathology in pedophilia are heterogeneous. In our study we therefore address inhibition behaviorally and by means of functional imaging, aiming to assess how inhibition in pedophilia is related to a differential recruitment of frontal brain areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven pedophilic subjects and 7 nonpedophilic controls underwent fMRI while performing a go/no-go task composed of neutral letters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pedophilic subjects showed a slower reaction time and less accurate visual target discrimination. fMRI voxel-level ANOVA revealed as a main effect of the go/no-go task an activation of prefrontal and parietal brain regions in the no-go condition, while the left anterior cingulate, precuneus and gyrus angularis became more activated in the go condition. In addition, a group × task interaction was found in the left precuneus and gyrus angularis. This interaction was based on an attenuated deactivation of these brain regions in the pedophilic group during performance of the no-go condition. The positive correlation between blood oxygen level-dependent imaging signal and reaction time in these brain areas indicates that attenuated deactivation is related to the behavioral findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Slower reaction time and less accurate visual target discrimination in pedophilia was accompanied by attenuated deactivation of brain areas belonging to the default mode network. Our findings thus support the notion that behavioral differences might also derive from self-related processes and not necessarily from frontal lobe pathology.
authors.affiliation: Departments of General and Social Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Habermeyer
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Händel
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lemoine
authors.forename: Hans Christian
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kuhl
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klarhöfer
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mager
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mokros
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dittmann
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seifritz
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology