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Boris Schiffer

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3 papers

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YNICL Journal 2019 Journal Article

Expectation of sexual images of adults and children elicits differential dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation in pedophilic sexual offenders and healthy controls

Inka Ristow
Jens Foell
Christian Kärgel
Viola Borchardt
Shijia Li
Dominik Denzel
Joachim Witzel
Krasimira Drumkova

BACKGROUND: Pedophilic disorder is characterized by increased sexual interest towards children, with comparatively lesser interest towards adults. In real life, the behavior of subjects with pedophilic disorder is shaped by evaluative processes in response to sexually relevant cues. Therefore, brain activation during anticipation of sexually relevant cues is of potential interest. Whereas previous research demonstrated reduced activation when viewing adult (non-preferred) sexual stimuli in pedophilic sex offenders (PSOs), it is not known if anticipation of preferred versus unpreferred stimuli will elicit differential brain activation. METHODS: Two fMRI studies (1.5 and 7 Tesla) were conducted in separate samples, each with 26 subjects (13/13 PSOs/controls) to assess brain activity during expectancy of subsequent adult (non-preferred) sexual stimuli. In the second study (7 Tesla) additionally child (preferred) cues were presented. RESULTS: As predicted, expectancy of adult sexual stimuli generated smaller dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation in PSOs in both studies, driven by stronger activation during expectancy of adult erotic stimuli in non-pedophilic controls (HCs). In the second study, PSOs showed significantly increased activations in dACC during expectancy of child stimuli compared with expectancy of adult stimuli. This difference was significantly greater compared to the same contrast in HCs, thus demonstrating preference specificity of dACC activation. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the notion of decreased brain activation to adult cues in PSOs and preference specificity in neural response during expectancy of erotic stimuli. The localization of these cue reactivity differences in the salience network supports the interpretation that PSOs show abnormally increased preparatory activation even before relevant sexual stimuli are actually presented.

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YNICL Journal 2018 Journal Article

Pedophilic sex offenders are characterised by reduced GABA concentration in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex

Inka Ristow
Meng Li
Lejla Colic
Vanessa Marr
Carina Födisch
Felicia von Düring
Kolja Schiltz
Krasimira Drumkova

A pedophilic disorder is characterised by abnormal sexual urges towards prepubescent children. Child abusive behavior is frequently a result of lack of behavioral inhibition and current treatment options entail, next to suppressing unchangeable sexual orientation, measures to increase cognitive and attentional control. We tested, if in brain regions subserving attentional control of behavior and perception of salient stimuli, such inhibition deficit can be observed also on the level of inhibitory neurotransmitters. We measured GABA concentration in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and in a control region, the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) in pedophilic sex offenders (N = 13) and matched controls (N = 13) using a 7 Tesla STEAM magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In dACC but not in the control region pedophilic sex offenders showed reduced GABA/Cr concentrations compared to healthy controls. The reduction was robust after controlling for potential influence of age and gray matter proportion within the MRS voxel (p < 0. 04). Importantly, reduced GABA/Cr in patients was correlated with lower self-control measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (p = 0. 028, r = −0. 689). In a region related to cognitive control and salience mapping, pedophilic sex offenders showed reduction of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA which may be seen as a neuronal correlate of inhibition and behavioral control.

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YNIMG Journal 2008 Journal Article

Functional brain correlates of heterosexual paedophilia

Boris Schiffer
Thomas Paul
Elke Gizewski
Michael Forsting
Norbert Leygraf
Manfred Schedlowski
Tillmann H.C. Kruger

Although the neuronal mechanisms underlying normal sexual motivation and function have recently been examined, the alterations in brain function in deviant sexual behaviours such as paedophilia are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to identify paedophilia-specific functional networks implicated in sexual arousal. Therefore a consecutive sample of eight paedophile forensic inpatients, exclusively attracted to females, and 12 healthy age-matched heterosexual control participants from a comparable socioeconomic stratum participated in a visual sexual stimulation procedure during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The visual stimuli were sexually stimulating photographs and emotionally neutral photographs. Immediately after the imaging session subjective responses pertaining to sexual desire were recorded. Principally, the brain response of heterosexual paedophiles to heteropaedophilic stimuli was comparable to that of heterosexual males to heterosexual stimuli, including different limbic structures (amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and hippocampus), the substantia nigra, caudate nucleus, as well as the anterior cingulate cortex, different thalamic nuclei, and associative cortices. However, responses to visual sexual stimulation were found in the orbitofrontal cortex in healthy heterosexual males, but not in paedophiles, in whom abnormal activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was observed. Thus, in line with clinical observations and neuropsychological studies, it seems that central processing of sexual stimuli in heterosexual paedophiles may be altered by a disturbance in the prefrontal networks, which, as has already been hypothesized, may be associated with stimulus-controlled behaviours, such as sexual compulsive behaviours. Moreover, these findings may suggest a dysfunction (in the functional and effective connectivity) at the cognitive stage of sexual arousal processing.

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