Brain Basis of Psychopathy in Criminal Offenders and General Population (original) (raw)
Related papers
Context. The population of men who display persistent antisocial and violent behavior is heterogeneous. Callous-unemotional traits in childhood and psychopathic traits in adulthood characterize a distinct subgroup. Objective. To identify structural grey matter (GM) differences between persistent violent offenders who meet criteria for antisocial personality disorder and the syndrome of psychopathy (ASPD+P) and those meeting criteria only for ASPD (ASPD-P). Design. Cross-sectional case-control structural magnetic resonance imaging study. Setting. Inner-city probation services and neuroimaging research unit in London, United Kingdom. Participants. 66 men: 17 violent offenders with ASPD+P; 27 violent offenders with ASPD-P; and 22 healthy non-offenders. Forensic clinicians assessed participants using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and the Psychopathy Checklist Revised. Main outcome measure. GM volumes as assessed by structural magnetic resonance imaging and volumetric voxel-based morphometry analyses. Results. ASPD+P offenders displayed significantly reduced GM volumes bilaterally in the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex (BA 10) and temporal poles (BA 20/38) relative to ASPD-P offenders and non-offenders. These reductions were not attributable to substance use disorders. ASPD-P offenders exhibited GM volumes similar to the non-offenders. Conclusions. Reduced GM volume within areas implicated in empathic processing, moral reasoning and processing of prosocial emotions such as guilt and embarrassment, may contribute to the profound abnormalities of social behavior observed in psychopathy. Evidence of robust structural brain differences between persistently violent men with and without psychopathy adds to the evidence that psychopathy represents a distinct phenotype. This knowledge may facilitate research into the etiology of persistent violent behaviour.
Investigating the neural correlates of psychopathy: a critical review
Molecular Psychiatry, 2011
In recent years, an increasing number of neuroimaging studies have sought to identify the brain anomalies associated with psychopathy. The results of such studies could have significant implications for the clinical and legal management of psychopaths, as well as for neurobiological models of human social behavior. In this article, we provide a critical review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies of psychopathy. In particular, we emphasize the considerable variability in results across studies, and focus our discussion on three methodological issues that could contribute to the observed heterogeneity in study data: (1) the use of between-group analyses (psychopaths vs non-psychopaths) as well as correlational analyses (normal variation in 'psychopathic' traits), (2) discrepancies in the criteria used to classify subjects as psychopaths and (3) consideration of psychopathic subtypes. The available evidence suggests that each of these issues could have a substantial effect on the reliability of imaging data. We propose several strategies for resolving these methodological issues in future studies, with the goal of fostering further progress in the identification of the neural correlates of psychopathy.
Aggression, psychopathy and brain imaging — Review and future recommendations
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2009
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Aggression Psychopathy Brain Imaging fMRI Violent behavior appears to result from a complex web of interacting genetic as well as environmental factors. Psychopathy is a strong predictor for relapse in violent acts. The current review shed light on rapidly expanding knowledge in brain imaging related to violent behavior and psychopathy. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane and PsycInfo combining the key words: mentally disordered offender/ aggression/violence/ crime/forensic psychiatry/brain imaging neuroimaging/fMRI/MRI/PET/SPECT/lack of empathy/psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. The reviewed material, which consisted of 48 articles, indicates a rather strong consensus on the connection between dysfunctional parts of the frontal and temporal lobes and violent antisocial behavior and psychopathy. In future studies, it would be useful to focus on the limbic system and to investigate which parts of the frontal lobes and cerebral networks that are of interest in the psychopathic personality. Moreover, the reviewed material highlights some of the methodological difficulties in this area of research such as selection bias in the recruitment of patients, inadequate matching of control subjects, and sometimes incongruous results. In the future we hope that brain imaging can be used to map biological deviations in different offenders in order to try to learn more about the different mechanisms behind violent behaviors.
Abnormalities in emotion processing within cortical and subcortical regions in criminal psychopaths
Biological Psychiatry, 2003
Background: Neurobiology of psychopathy is important for our understanding of current neuropsychiatric questions. Despite a growing interest in biological research in psychopathy, its neural underpinning remains obscure. Methods: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the influence of affective contents on brain activation in psychopaths. Series containing positive and negative pictures from the International Affective Picture System were shown to six male psychopaths and six male control subjects while 100 whole-brain echo-planar-imaging measurements were acquired. Differences in brain activation were evaluated using BrainVoyager software 4.6. Results: In psychopaths, increased activation through negative contents was found right-sided in prefrontal regions and amygdala. Activation was reduced right-sided in the subgenual cingulate and the temporal gyrus, and left-sided in the dorsal cingulate and the parahippocampal gyrus. Increased activation through positive contents was found left-sided in the orbitofrontal regions. Activation was reduced in right medial frontal and medial temporal regions. Conclusions: These findings underline the hypotheses that psychopathy is neurobiologically reflected by dysregulation and disturbed functional connectivity of emotionrelated brain regions. These findings may be interpreted within a framework including prefrontal regions that provide top-down control to and regulate bottom-up signals from limbic areas. Because of the small sample size, the results of this study have to be regarded as preliminary.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by callous lack of empathy, impulsive antisocial behavior, and criminal recidivism. Studies of brain structure and function in psychopathy have frequently identified abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, findings have not yet converged to yield a clear relationship between specific subregions of prefrontal cortex and particular psychopathic traits. We performed a multimodal neuroimaging study of prefrontal cortex volume and functional connectivity in psychopathy, using a sample of adult male prison inmates (N ¼ 124). We conducted volumetric analyses in prefrontal subregions, and subsequently assessed resting-state functional connectivity in areas where volume was related to psychopathy severity. We found that overall psychopathy severity and Factor 2 scores (which index the impul-sive/antisocial traits of psychopathy) were associated with larger prefrontal subregion volumes, particularly in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, Factor 2 scores were also positively correlated with functional connectivity between several areas of the prefrontal cortex. The results were not attributable to age, race, IQ, substance use history, or brain volume. Collectively, these findings provide evidence for co-localized increases in prefrontal cortex volume and intra-prefrontal functional connectivity in relation to impulsive/antisocial psychopathic traits.
Functional Neuroscience of Psychopathic Personality in Adults
Journal of Personality, 2014
Psychopathy is a personality disorder that involves a constellation of traits including callous-unemotionality, manipulativeness, and impulsiveness. Here we review recent advances in the research of functional neural correlates of psychopathic personality traits in adults.We first provide a concise overview of functional neuroimaging findings in clinical samples diagnosed with the PCL-R.We then review studies with community samples that have focused on how individual differences in psychopathic traits (variously measured) relate to individual differences in brain function. Where appropriate, we draw parallels between the findings from these studies and those with clinical samples. Extant data suggest that individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits show lower activity in affect-processing brain areas to emotional/salient stimuli, and that attenuated activity may be dependent on the precise content of the task.They also seem to show higher activity in regions typically associated with reward processing and cognitive control in tasks involving moral processing, decision making, and reward. Furthermore, affectiveinterpersonal and lifestyle-antisocial facets of psychopathy appear to be associated with different patterns of atypical neural activity. Neuroimaging findings from community samples typically mirror those observed in clinical samples, and largely support the notion that psychopathy is a dimensional construct.
Biological Correlates of Psychopathic Traits
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present and provide a critical review of most recent studies inquiring into brain abnormalities in psychopathy. Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide an overview of the findings of neurobiological studies conducted in the last five years. Publications chosen for review were found using Web of Science, PsycINFO and Scopus search engines. Findings – Data in the literature reveal that psychopathy is associated with brain abnormalities in frontal and temporo-limbic regions, i.e. regions responsible for moral decision making, emotional processing and learning. Additionally, interactions between the brain areas have been identified as crucial for the development of psychopathic personality traits. Research findings suggest that the flow of impulses between the frontal cortex and temporo-limbic structures in psychopaths is significantly hindered. Originality/value – The current paper provides an in-depth review of most recent neurobiologica...
Volume Reduction in Prefrontal Gray Matter in Unsuccessful Criminal Psychopaths
Biological Psychiatry, 2005
Background: Although studies of neurologic patients have suggested that prefrontal structural impairments may predispose to sociopathy, it is unknown whether there is a relationship between psychopathy and prefrontal volume in individuals from the community and whether any prefrontal structural impairment is specific to "unsuccessful" (caught) psychopaths as opposed to "successful" (uncaught) psychopaths. This study tests the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with a reduction in prefrontal gray volume but that this abnormality is specific to unsuccessful psychopaths. Method: Prefrontal gray and white matter volumes were assessed using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 16 unsuccessful psychopaths, 13 successful psychopaths, and 23 control subjects. Results: Higher total as well as subfactor psychopathy scores (arrogant/deceptive, affective, and impulsive/unstable) were all associated with low prefrontal gray volume. Unsuccessful psychopaths, but not successful psychopaths, had a 22.3% reduction in prefrontal gray matter volume compared with control subjects. Conclusions: These results demonstrating for the first time a prefrontal structural deficit in community psychopaths provide partial support for a prefrontal theory of psychopathy but highlight an important difference between successful and unsuccessful psychopaths.
Brain structure reflects empathy and psychopathy in incarcerated males
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), 2023
Whether brain structure could reflect empathy and psychopathy in the same antisocial population is unknown. In White adult males from prison (N = 549, Mage = 34 ± 11 years), we measured empathy with the Perspective Taking (IRI-PT) and Empathic Concern (IRI-EC) subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and psychopathic traits with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised or Youth Version (PCL-R/YV). A subsample (N = 278, Mage = 36 ± 11 years) underwent MRI, from which we derived cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA). CT did not relate to IRI-PT or IRI-EC, while SA of the left inferior temporal gyrus (L ITG) related negatively to IRI-PT and positively to PCL-R and PCL-R item 8 (Callousness/Lack of Empathy). L-ITG SA predicted scores on IRI-PT-but not IRI-EC-in an out-of-sample test (R 2 = 0.030). Mapping onto the histological BigBrain gradient, higher scores on IRI-PT-but not IRI-ECentailed a progressive SA reduction from Bin 1 (sensorimotor) to Bin 5 (limbic). Psychopaths (PCL-R/YV ≥ 30, N = 73/39) had: (1) reduced IRI-PT and IRI-EC scores (Cohen's Ds =-0.423,-0.564, respectively); (2) increased L-ITG SA (Cohen's D = 0.560); (3) increased global SA (Cohen's D = 0.480); and (4) reduced SA covariance between the left precentral and left isthmus-cingulate cortices. There were no group differences in global, modular, or nodal SA covariance, as indexed by canonical graph-theoretical metrics. We provide novel insights into the brain correlates of empathy and psychopathy in incarcerated males.