Understanding processing speed weaknesses among pedophilic child molesters: response style vs. neuropathology.

Research shows that pedophilic (PED) child molesters exhibit slower performance speed and greater performance accuracy when compared to nonpedophilic (N-PED) child molesters or other criminal and noncriminal controls. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether these differences reflect a slow/deliberate response style among PEDS (as we have previously hypothesized; Eastvold, Suchy, & Strassberg, 2011; Suchy, Whittaker, Strassberg, & Eastvold, 2009a, 2009b), or a fundamental neuropathological weakness in processing speed. Data came from a larger study examining neurocognition among sex offenders.

Exaggerated reaction to novelty as a subclinical consequence of mild traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: To evaluate exaggerated reaction to novelty as a behavioural marker of sub-clinical cognitive dysfunction in individuals with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Background And Hypothesis: A sub-set of individuals who sustain mTBIs report persistent cognitive difficulties despite normal performance on traditional neuropsychological measures. Evidence of subtle neuroimaging abnormalities following mTBI lends support to such subjective complaints.

Psychopathy among pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters.

Objective: Among men who commit sexual offenses against children, at least 2 distinct groups can be identified on the basis of the age of the primary targets of their sexual interest; pedophiles and nonpedophiles.

Method: In the present report, across 2 independent samples of both types of child molesters as well as controls, a total of 104 men (53 pedophilic and 51 nonpedophilic) who had sexually offended against a child age 13 or younger were compared to each other (and to 49 non-sex offender controls) on psychopathy as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI).

Results: In both samples of child molesters, the nonpedophiles scored as significantly more psychopathic than the pedophiles.

Does a third party observer affect neuropsychological test performance? It depends.

This study is a meta-analysis of available literature examining the effect of an observer on cognitive task performance. Of the 210 identified relevant articles, 62 met inclusion criteria yielding a final sample with 4405 individuals (2496 observed cases, 1909 not observed). The overall effect size was significant (d=-0.

The differential contributions of posttraumatic amnesia duration and time since injury in prediction of functional outcomes following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To examine the relative contributions of preinjury, injury severity, and acute postinjury variables in predicting outcomes at 1 year following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Four Veterans Affairs Medical Center acute inpatient rehabilitation programs.

Executive function profiles of pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters.

There is increasing evidence of neurocognitive dysfunction among child molesters, supporting the notion of brain anomalies among pedophiles. However, approximately half of child molesters are not pedophilic (i.e.

Facial and prosodic affect recognition among pedophilic and nonpedophilic criminal child molesters.

The present study compared facial and prosodic affect recognition abilities among pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters and community-dwelling controls. Pedophilic child molesters are characterized by primary sexual interest in prepubescent children, whereas nonpedophilic child molesters are characterized by offending against children despite being primarily sexually attracted to adults. The results showed that nonpedophilic child molesters made more errors in recognizing both facial and prosodic affect, performing more poorly than both controls and pedophilic child molesters.

Neurocognitive differences between pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters.

Although some evidence exists that child molesters may be characterized by structural and functional brain abnormalities, findings across studies are inconsistent. Past cognitive research in this area has been extensively criticized for relying on conceptually weak batteries, measures of questionable reliability, and poorly defined samples (i.e.

Validation of the behavioral dyscontrol scale-electronic version: sensitivity to subtle sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To determine whether a new computer-administered battery (Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale-Electronic Version; BDS-EV) can detect subtle executive weaknesses among individuals with a self-reported history of mild head trauma (MHT), and to compare the utility of this battery to the original, non-electronic BDS and other traditional executive measures. Both BDS-EV and BDS are comprised of three factors (motor programming, environmental independence, and fluid intelligence).

Method: Participants with (n = 19) and without (n = 24) MHT were compared on their performance on the BDS-EV, the non-electronic BDS, and three traditional measures of executive abilities.

Dopamine agonist effects on startle and sensorimotor gating in normal male subjects: time course studies.

Rationale: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle is a measure of sensorimotor gating that is deficient in schizophrenia and in rodents treated with dopamine (DA) agonists. Reduced PPI is reported in normal humans treated with direct or indirect DA agonists. To facilitate future studies, we assessed the time course of DA agonist effects on PPI in humans, for both direct (bromocriptine: 1.