Psychopathy And The Physiological Etiology Of Psychopathy

Psychopathy as a mental disorder or construct, although not included in the presently valid classification systems, is gradually fascinating the experts and investigators involved in the field of mental health. Curiosity in psychopathy has mainly grown after the declaration of the new classification system DSM V in which psychopathy is mentioned as a clear diagnosis in the context of six new personality illnesses.

According to studies led by King’s College researchers, it has been confirmed that “psychopathy is a distinct subgroup of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)” (Gregory et. al n.p) and similarly to psychopathy, the more severe ASPD behavioral patterns are, the symptoms can be referred to as sociopathic or psychopathic. Furthermore, according to Nigel Blackwood, Ma, MD.MRCPsych, “MRI scans...found that psychopaths had structural brain abnormalities in key areas of their ‘social brains’” (Gregory et. al n.p). The areas of the brain, in which are deficient in psychopaths, are important when comprehending an individual emotions’, intentions, and moral

However, more recently, a study led by King’s College London has claimed that there are differences between the brains of psychopaths and other criminal offenders diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Nigel Blackwood who led the research is quoted as saying “We describe those without psychopathy as 'hot-headed' and those with psychopathy as ‘cold-hearted’.” This statement shows a clear distinction between what should be interpreted as a lack of self-control and ability to repress impulses and what should be diagnosed as psychopathy.
The study took MRI scans of 66 men, two thirds of which were offenders who had been diagnosed with antisocial personality whilst the other third were non-offenders considered to not have any personality disorders. Of the 44 offenders, 17 met the diagnosis criteria for psychopathy (ASPD+P) assessed by the guidelines stated in the DSM-IV. Researchers saw that the members of the study diagnosed as psychopaths had notably less grey matter in areas associated with moral behaviour and understanding other peoples’

Psychopathy, in both the mental health and criminal justice systems, has emerged as one of the most important clinical constructs of the 21st century (Hare, Clark, Grann, & Thornton, 2000, p. 623). Where clinically, psychopathy is traditionally described as a combination of inferred socially deviant behaviors and personality traits. Some traits and behaviors a psychopath is seen to possess are commonly known, for example, to being impulsive, selfish, aggressive, lacking remorse, shame, feeling for others, pathologically lying, and having asocial or antisocial behaviors (Hare, & Neumann, 2006, p. 59-60). One of the reasons as to why psychopathy has come to see an increase in the development of its theoretical and applied interest is the

Psychopaths have been around for more than a century, and have found themselves to be able to make the public fear them. Belle Gunness, the Zodiac Killer, and John Wayne Gacy are all examples for the character traits compatible with psychopathy and have been able to provide more reason to the research of psychopaths. Statistically, psychopathy is found in three percent of the male population and in one percent of one percent of the female population. A psychopath’s behavior of exploitation, lying, recklessness, and arrogance has been studied to further understand how their brain structure is different in MRI scans and how they are able to use special abilities to catch its victims. Many research studies have been able to provide more information

Unfortunately, changing the biological composition of their brain is not as easily achieved. Studies have found multiple areas of interest when studying the brain structures in psychopaths. These minor differences provide a world of knowledge into what composes a psychopath. Since each area of the brain serves a specific function, determining the effects of abnormalities correlates to the area of interest. Due to the major costs associated with many tests, they are not performed unless indicated. Brain imaging research on psychopathy: Implications for punishment, prediction, and treatment in youth and adults provides us with the very new research that has been conducted on both adult psychopaths, and juveniles that display callous unemotional traits (CU) and have disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) (Umbach et al., 2015). Research done has not given conclusive results that fits for each and every psychopath, but an area of commonality is the amygdala. “In addition to their finding of significant bilateral volume reductions in psychopaths, Yang et al. (2009) identified localized surface deformations in four of the 13 nuclei: the basolateral, lateral, cortical, and central nuclei.” (Umbach et al., 2015, p.296). The paralimbic structure is seen as the emotion processing center of the brain, controlling all emotions including empathy and conditioned fear

The most common traits associated with antisocial personality disorder are general cognitive and emotional dysfunction, especially in regards to callousness, manipulation and shallow affect. This study examined specific brain functioning tendencies of both mentally healthy participants and patients diagnosed with psychopathy by comparatively analyzing their facial emotion processing. The comparison allowed researchers to determine the relationship between psychopathological tendencies in relevance to patterns of responses. Generally, people diagnosed with psychopathy demonstrate reduced autonomic responses to expressions of distress or sadness, which in turn leads

This article states that we need to stop interchanging psychopath and sociopath, as they are two different disciplines. Pemment goes into detail about the history, research, and growth of psychopathy. He says that we need to understand the difference between the two, as the behavioral characteristics and potential treatments for each are different. The article includes details on Hervey Cleckley and Robert Hares work on psychopathy. The article describes the PCL-R, and how Hare says the test should be done. The PCL-R is used as a screening tool to identify psychopaths, and

There is no current compilation of tests or surveys that can serve as a standard to test for psychopathy in children. Even though the cause of this disorder is unknown, researchers have discovered a remarkable amount of information relating to brain abnormalities in psychopaths. Various psychologists claim that just like autism, psychopathy is a distinct neurological condition; this brain activity can be identified in children as young as five years of age (Kahn, 2012). A study tracked the psychological development of 3,000 children, this was done over a span of 25 years, it was stated that psychopathic signs could be detected in children as young as three years of age. New high-level technology such as the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Magnetic Resonance imaging (fMRI) has facilitated researchers in locating the affected sections in the brain of a psychopath.

The causes of psychopathy remain unknown. In a study at University of Wisconsin, Madison conducted by UW-Madison psychiatry Professor Michael Koenigs, UW-Madison psychology Professor Joseph Newman, and Dr. Kent Kiehl of the University of New Mexico, brain scans revealed that psychopathy in criminals indicated a disconnection between the amygdala (a part of the brain that controls fear and anxiety), and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), a region in the frontal lobe responsible for the control of sentiments such as empathy and guilt. “When there is a weak connection between these two regions or the connection is disrupted, the amygdala doesn’t process the negative stimuli into negative felt emotions. So, when an individual with psychopathy does something bad they do not feel nervous, embarrassed, or sad when other people suffer (Koenigs

A scientific study in England compared the brains of psychopaths with a group of mice. The result of this experiment directly correlates with the mental and physical behaviors of psychopathic humans. One mouse

Sixteen psychopaths and sixteen nonpsychopaths were identified and chosen to participate in the study based on demographic, cognitive and substance abuse variables. The researchers went through this to assure that the two samples were very similar in these three categories of variables. The samples were shown three different picture sets each of 25 pictures: moral (immoral actions in an unpleasant setting), nonmoral (nonmoral actions in an unpleasant setting) and neutral (nonmoral actions in a neutral setting). The participants were asked to rate the pictures on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the highest on extent on moral violation. They were told that this was based on their own moral beliefs and not what society would think. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was done during the trials to show the brain activity of the participants. This was done to determine whether there was increased activity with higher or lower ratings. In moral decision making, psychopaths were shown to have less to no activity in the anterior temporal and ventromedial cortex when compared to the increased activity with nonpsychopaths during moral tasks. But they still ranked them properly, but without the activation. The reduced activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex shows reduced moral decision making

Anti-social behaviors, commonly known as psychopathy, can be detected in individuals through brain scans and other forms of observation. Those with an anti-social disorder constitute less than 1 percent of the general population, yet roughly 25 percent of those in prison. In addition, almost all commit crimes of extreme violence. A neuroimaging tool used to identify those with predispositions toward violence would ensure that crime rates could be lowered by systematically curbing these instincts.

Due to its primary role in processing memory and emotional reactions, over the last decade and a half psychologists have been linking the amygdala to psychopathy. It is involved in aversive conditioning and instrumental learning and is thus involved in all the processes that, when impaired, produce the same functional impairments displayed by psychopaths. Two famous studies conducted by Tiihonen and Kiehl respectively have confirmed this. Tiihonen used a volumetric MRI to test and confirm the positive correlation between low amygdaloid volume and a high degree of psychopathy in violent criminals (measured by the Hare checklist-revised) while Kiehl used a functional MRI to prove reduced amygdala response during an emotional memory task in individuals who scored high on the Hare checklist-revised. However, both these studies along with numerous others were conducted using violent offenders as subjects rather than individuals with psychopathy. Although many psychopaths do exhibit violent tendencies, not all violent offenders are necessarily psychopaths. A study conducted by Raine is one of the few that did focus only on individuals exhibiting psychopathy. In his study Raine was able to show reduced prefrontal grey matter in his test subjects. Unfortunately though, he was unable to differentiate between grey matter in different regions of the prefrontal cortex. It is however clear that there is one region of the frontal cortex that could be

Behavioral neuroscience or biological psychology employs the principles of brain pathology to the study of human behavior through genetic, physiological, and developmental operations, as well as, the brain’s capacity to change with experience. Since the second world war, crime was largely attributed to mostly economic, political, and social factors, along with what psychologists termed at the time, the “weak character” of mental disturbance, and brain biology was rarely considered. However, new advances in neuroscience and technology have allowed a number of studies that link brain development, impairment, and injury to criminal violence. This emerging field of psychology explores the brain at a microscopic level, focusing studies on the roles that the brain’s neurons, circuitry, neurotransmitters, and basic biological processes play in defining and molding all human behavior.