ABSTRACT
The topic of sexual assault during sleep is discussed again on the basis of two case reports and several incidents published in the media. The authors support the assumption of Hohner and Püsche1 (2011). There is evidence that it is indeed possible not to wake up during a sexual assault--even without being under the influence of alcohol, illicit drugs or medication--and that a sexual assault during sleep can pass unnoticed. In such cases the outcome of the criminal trial often depends on the careful assessment of the expert, as the faculty of imagination of those passing judgment varies greatly. Based on new findings regarding sexsomnia, even sexual offenders may use the "sleepwalking defense" in specific cases.
Subject(s)
Child Abuse, Sexual/legislation & jurisprudence , Rape/legislation & jurisprudence , Sleep , Adult , Child, Preschool , Female , Germany , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The processing of reward and punishment stimuli in humans appears to involve brain oscillatory activity of several frequencies, probably each with a distinct function. The exact nature of associations of these electrophysiological measures with impulsive or risk-seeking personality traits is not completely clear. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate event-related oscillatory activity during reward processing across a wide spectrum of frequencies, and its associations with impulsivity and sensation seeking in healthy subjects. METHODS: During recording of a 32-channel EEG 22 healthy volunteers were characterized with the Barratt Impulsiveness and the Sensation Seeking Scale and performed a computerized two-choice gambling task comprising different feedback options with positive vs. negative valence (gain or loss) and high or low magnitude (5 vs. 25 points). RESULTS: We observed greater increases of amplitudes of the feedback-related negativity and of activity in the theta, alpha and low-beta frequency range following loss feedback and, in contrast, greater increase of activity in the high-beta frequency range following gain feedback. Significant magnitude effects were observed for theta and delta oscillations, indicating greater amplitudes upon feedback concerning large stakes. The theta amplitude changes during loss were negatively correlated with motor impulsivity scores, whereas alpha and low-beta increase upon loss and high-beta increase upon gain were positively correlated with various dimensions of sensation seeking. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the processing of feedback information involves several distinct processes, which are subserved by oscillations of different frequencies and are associated with different personality traits.
