Neuropsychology and Law 5

Question 1

Pedophilia

Answer 1

Defined as ongoing sexual attraction toward pre-pubertal children.
Additional factors: experiencing significant distress and impairment by fantasies and urges + acting out on behavioural level (e.g. child pornography consumption).

Question 2

Non-paedophilic child abusers

Answer 2

Affected by impulse-control disorder accounting for the lack of a sexual preference for children but the committed act of CSA.

Question 3

Tanner stages

Answer 3

Involves stages 1 and 2 –> complete lack of secondary sex characteristics + slight onset of breast and testicle enlargement.

Question 4

Phallometry

Answer 4

Test used to assess men’s level of arousal by presenting an array of sexually stimulating images.

Question 5

Testing measures

Answer 5

• Phallometry
• Viewing time paradigm
• Sexual stroop mask (implicits associations)
• Eye-tracking + pupil dilatation
• fMRI (functional magnetic imaging)

Question 6

Paedophilic offenders

Answer 6

Specific deficits in executive functions such as information processing speed (specific patterns).

Question 7

Development

Answer 7

Influenced by genetics, stressful life events, learning processes and structural brain integrity.

Question 8

Frontal lobe theory

Answer 8

Develops due to differences in Orbitofrontal and left and right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex –> responsible for behavioural control.

Question 9

Temporal lobe theory

Answer 9

Disturbances in temporal lobe may cause hyper sexuality and increased deviant sexual interests.

Question 10

Sex dimorphic brain structures theory

Answer 10

Differences in brain structures due to testosterone exposure could affect the development of this illness.

Question 11

Fronto-temporal theory

Answer 11

Indicates that frontal lobe is linked to committing offences, while the temporal lobe is associated with sexual preoccupation.

Question 12

Neurodevelopmental correlates

Answer 12

Sex differences are influenced by testosterone release during critical development periods + higher incidence of head injuries before the age of 13 + ADHD + left-handedness + sibling sex competition + greater parental age at birth + fluctuating asymmetry in physical traits.

Question 13

Amygdala

Answer 13

Reduced right amygdala volume linked to influencing emotional and sexual processing.

Question 14

Orbitofrontal Cortex

Answer 14

(case study of man with tumor) showed lack of impulse control.

Question 15

Temporal Cortex

Answer 15

(case study of two men with front-temporal demential + hippocampus sclerosis) decreased metabolism of temporal and frontal cortices implicated in cortical regulation of sexual arousal –> inhibition.

Question 16

MRIs

Answer 16

Studies proved increased grey matter volume and reduce white matter volume, leading to the discovery of very specific preferences –> little reaction to adult erotic stimuli, explicit reaction to sexual stimuli matching individuals’ preferences.

Question 17

Difference with child sexual offenders

Answer 17

May not have a primary sexual interest in children but still commit offences due to impaired judgment, coercion or substance abuse, as well as opportunism, antisocial tendencies, or other situational factors.