title: The (in)consistency of changes in brain macrostructure in male paedophiles: A combined T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: gerwinn@sexmed.uni-kiel.de.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gerwinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Granert
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van Eimeren
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Olav
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Medical School, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deuschl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry Kiel, Niemannsweg 147, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huchzermeier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry Kiel, Niemannsweg 147, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Aglaja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stirn
authors.affiliation: Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Kettegaard Allé 30, 2650, Hvidovre, Denmark; Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, 2400, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Hartwig Roman
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Siebner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Integrative Psychiatry Kiel, Niemannsweg 147, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ponseti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D057237:Criminals; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000473:pathology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Brain structure; DTI; MRI; Paedophilia; Sexual orientation; VBM