Sherry Nickerson | Towson University (original) (raw)

Address: Parkton, Maryland, United States

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Papers by Sherry Nickerson

Research paper thumbnail of Expressive writing in people with traumatic brain injury and learning disability

Research paper thumbnail of Brain Abnormalities in Psychopaths: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between measures of brain imaging and psychopath... more This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between measures of brain imaging and psychopathy. The study population included a total of 58 studies in which measures of aMRI, fMRI, SPECT, and PET from patients with diagnosed psychopathy were compared to those obtained from control populations. The typical hypothesis in these studies was that those patients with psychopathy would show deficiencies in neural activity and brain matter in the prefrontal cortex relative to controls. The meta-analysis results indicated an overall significant effect size across studies of approximately 20%. The effect size was consistent across 56 of the 58 studies. Two studies showed an effect that was not in the predicted direction. Effect size was also related to the type of brain imaging. Those studies that used fMRI and MRI techniques produced generally smaller effect sizes relative to those that used aMRI, PET or SPECT techniques. The effect sizes in these studies were unrelated to other variables, such as the sample size, percent of males in the study, and the average age of the participants. The results demonstrate abnormal activity in the PFC regions of people with psychopathy when compared to controls.

Research paper thumbnail of Expressive writing in people with traumatic brain injury and learning disability

Research paper thumbnail of Brain Abnormalities in Psychopaths: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between measures of brain imaging and psychopath... more This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between measures of brain imaging and psychopathy. The study population included a total of 58 studies in which measures of aMRI, fMRI, SPECT, and PET from patients with diagnosed psychopathy were compared to those obtained from control populations. The typical hypothesis in these studies was that those patients with psychopathy would show deficiencies in neural activity and brain matter in the prefrontal cortex relative to controls. The meta-analysis results indicated an overall significant effect size across studies of approximately 20%. The effect size was consistent across 56 of the 58 studies. Two studies showed an effect that was not in the predicted direction. Effect size was also related to the type of brain imaging. Those studies that used fMRI and MRI techniques produced generally smaller effect sizes relative to those that used aMRI, PET or SPECT techniques. The effect sizes in these studies were unrelated to other variables, such as the sample size, percent of males in the study, and the average age of the participants. The results demonstrate abnormal activity in the PFC regions of people with psychopathy when compared to controls.

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