{
  "abstract": "Background: Pedohebephilia (P+), the sexual preference for prepubescent and early pubertal minors, regularly causes distress in those affected. While associated with child sexual offending (CSO), P+ is not a prerequisite for CSO. Limited neuroimaging studies have identified alterations associated with P+, while these may primarily reflect offending history. The correlates of P+ independent of CSO therefore remain unclear. We examined this distinction using intrinsic functional networks within a multivariate predictive framework. Methods: Using resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and network-based prediction (NBS-Predict), we performed pairwise classifications among non-offending pedohebephilic men (P+CSO-, n=35), pedohebephilic men with CSO (P+CSO+, n=38), and non-pedohebephilic controls without CSO (P-CSO-, n=63). Classification-relevant subnetwork nodal strength was associated post hoc with trait impulsivity within P+ groups. Results: P+CSO- were significantly distinguished from P-CSO- (balanced accuracy [BAC]=0.621, pFDR=.041), and showed reductions between default-mode hubs and temporoparietal somatomotor and ventral attention regions. P+CSO+ were also significantly distinguished from P+CSO- (BAC=0.645, pFDR=.032) and yielded a smaller subnetwork centered on the substantia nigra. Against P-CSO-, P+CSO+ showed widespread reductions, particularly across subcortical, default mode, visual, limbic, and somatomotor regions (BAC=0.640, pFDR=0.032). Right precentral gyrus nodal strength correlated with impulsivity in P+CSO+ only (r=0.57, pFDR=0.024). Conclusions: Whole-brain rsFC contains information distinguishing pedohebephilic preference in the absence of known CSO, while P+CSO+ show additional and more widespread network alterations involving systems implicated in action selection and behavioral regulation. These findings open new avenues for integrating pedohebephilia into broader neurobiological research frameworks.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Charite-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, corporate Member of Freie Universitaet Berlin and Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscienc"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "E. Serin"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. R. Khan"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Krueger"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Sinke"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. M. Beier"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Walter"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Schiffer"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Amelung"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. Walter"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1d14hyjerv8we.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.21.760530",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.760530v1.full",
  "id": "1d14hyjerv8we",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.760530v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223671787",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.760530v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1d14hyjerv8we.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.21.760530",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.760530v2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Dissociating Resting-State Networks of Pedohebephilic Preference and Child Sexual Offending Using Network-Based Prediction",
  "title_text": "Dissociating Resting-State Networks of Pedohebephilic Preference and Child Sexual Offending Using Network-Based Prediction",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T00:20:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1d14hyjerv8we",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}