Can science spot a pedophile?

At least five studies conducted in the past two years have dealt with various abnormalities detected in pedophiles’ brains. Research has varied, from discerning irregularities in the frontal lobe to observing brain activity as pedophiles viewed images of naked children.

Pedophiles appear to have significantly less white matter—a substance that connects different parts of the brain—than nonpedophiles, according to research conducted by James Cantor, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Cantor is working with new types of MRI scans known as diffusion tensor imaging to get a better sense of what he calls “the literal crosswiring of the brain” commonly found in pedophiles.

Cantor has said that a lack of connection between separate parts of the brain could mean that pedophiles have serious trouble differentiating between sexual objects. His research has also found that pedophiles generally have lower IQs than people with sexual interest in adults, and that pedophiles are also disproportionately left-handed compared to the overall population.