Brain scans of pedophiles shown adult porno demonstrate less reaction to the pictures.

Philadelphia, PA, September 20, 2007 – Pedophilia, the sexual attraction of adults to children, is a significant public health concern and it does not respond well to treatment. Additionally, the brain mechanisms underlying pedophilia are not well understood. A new study being published in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry is the first of its kind to use functional brain imaging to describe neural circuits contributing to pedophilia.

I've long expected scientists will find that peds are wired up differently than the rest of us. Since I suspect the cause of their behavior comes from how their brains are wired I do not see that it makes sense to let them back out into society once they've been identified and served jail sentences. Okay, so what I do propose to do with them instead? Put them in isolated communities where they can't possibly get near children but where they are otherwise able to move about and live freely. Set aside a pedophile island where they would get relocated. Put buildings, infrastructure, other elements need to create a functional economy on that island.

I think the "isle of the damned" approach makes a lot of sense for certain types of crimes where people have unacceptable and unrepairable obsessions and criminal tendencies. If they are threats to only a portion of humanity (e.g. children, women) then put them somewhere that has none of their preferred targets.

Will we some day use brain scans to identify who should get sent to the "isle of the damned"?

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, Walter and colleagues report that pedophilic patients showed reduced activation of the hypothalamus, a brain region involved in regulating physiologic arousal and hormone release, as compared to healthy individuals when they were viewing sexually arousing pictures of adults. Deficits of activation in the frontal cortex were associated with the extent of pedophilic behavior. In other words, when shown erotic pictures of adults, the brains of the pedophilic patients had reduced reactions in the pleasure center of the brain, indicating an altered sexual interest.

Is it possible to develop a brain scanning technology that will identify pedophiles without any false positives?

The scientists obviously want “the ability to intervene rationally in this disorder".

John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, comments that, “the ability to intervene rationally in this disorder is limited by shortcomings in our understanding of its neurobiology. The findings provide clues to the complexity of this disorder, [and] this deficit may predispose individuals who are vulnerable to pedophilia to seek other forms of stimulation.” It is important to acknowledge and consider however, that it is currently unknown “whether this pattern of brain activation is a risk factor for the development of pedophilia or a consequence of their pedophilic sexual experiences,” according to Dr. Krystal, and future research will be needed.

Therapy in this case would result in reordering of neurons in the brain. These researchers sound like their ultimate goal is to reshape human desires that are considered morally unacceptable.

One of the study’s authors, Georg Northoff, M.D., Ph.D., adds, "[These findings] may open the door for better understanding the neurobiology of this disorder which is of forensic, criminal and public concern. Our results may thus be seen as the first step towards establishing a neurobiology of pedophilia which ultimately may contribute to the development of new and effective means of therapies for this debilitating disorder.”

Therapies for a brain disorder that causes undesired behavior? Any such therapy would involve reshaping the brain to change emotional reactions and desires. Is this acceptable to do to criminals without their consent?