¶ … brain function between pedophiles and non-pedophiles. Summarize the evidence in support of this assertion. Propose a study that would advance our knowledge of the topic.
Pedophilia is such a horrific crime; it is difficult to rationally evaluate the objective medical evidence that can give clues as to why it occurs. However, recent scientific evidence indicates that there are specific biological components of the brain that can cause a predisposition to develop pedophilia. This is helpful in answering the mystery of why this crime, which is widely condemned in a variety of cultures, has remained such a persistent blight upon society throughout the ages.
Using MRIs, scientists have noted that pedophiles and non-pedophiles exhibit the neurological signs of arousal in a different fashion. In the visual cortex of the brain, "a stronger visual analysis happens as soon as an adult heterosexual man sees a woman of the same age. The exact same regions activate in a pedophile's brain when they see a naked child" (Hajasch 2013). This has expanded the ability of modern science to understand the condition and complicated the notion that pedophilia is only a crime. The MRI evidence indicates that it is a disorder as well of a psychological nature: much like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the brain activity of pedophiles is notably different than non-pedophiles. Before MRIs, the study of pedophiles was limited to those persons who acted on their impulses and who were apprehended by law enforcement, but via brain scans we are able to see that arousal response patterns are abnormal even in persons who do not act upon their cravings. "According to the new American psychiatric classification system, a person is only classified as a pedophile if that person acts on their sexual attraction to children - or at least suffers from the fact that they have this attraction…If he has this attraction without abusing a child, then we can call it a sexual orientation" (Hajasch...
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