A combined behavioral and EEG investigation of facial emotion recognition in sexual offenders against minors.

This study addresses a significant gap in literature by investigating emotional processing in sexual offenders against minors (SOm), using a combined electroencephalographic (EEG) and behavioral approach. In the first experiment, explicit behavioral abilities related to emotional recognition and the evaluation of perceived facial emotions were assessed in 15 SOm individuals, compared to 15 matched controls. In the second experiment, participants were asked to complete an implicit emotion task involving the presentation of emotional facial expressions while EEG activity was recorded. Behavioral results revealed a significant deficit in the recognition of fearful emotions, and an altered evaluation of the valence of disgusted emotional faces, in the SOm group compared to the control group. The implicit EEG results indicated a significantly lower amplitude in the P2-LPP temporal windows across temporo-parieto-occipital locations and modulated by the emotion and age of the presented faces. Taken together, these results highlight an emotional deficit in the SOm group, further reinforcing the hypothesis that this population has specific difficulty recognizing and interpreting emotional facial expressions, particularly those conveying negative emotions. These results represent a preliminary step toward a more comprehensive understanding of the cerebral underpinnings of emotional deficits in individuals who have committed sexual offenses against minors.