Psychopathy Etiology

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

It is believed that a mutation in the prefrontal cortex predisposes some people to violence. The frontal lobe is what we use to make decisions and, when fully developed, allows us to think carefully about our actions before we take them. An alteration in the prefrontal cortex may make us susceptible to impulsive and rash behaviors. For example, teens tend to be more reckless than adults. The teen frontal lobe is not fully formed, which is the reason for this outcome. Teens also tend to rely on their amygdalas to make decision. The amygdala is the center for powerful emotions, such as anger, jealousy, and guilt. For example, psychopaths have been found to be void of guilt and regret as a result of “the amygdala [being] less activated when they

In all humans’ brains, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the determining factor for empathy, morals, and emotions. The problem comes when the PFC is damaged, which causes alterations in the mental state. University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health reveals that the damage to this part of the brain is due to reduced structural integrity and less activity in the PFC, determined by diffusor tensor images (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because doctors determine the behavioral integrity of a person by the function of their PFC, it is the main focus for determining psychopathic tendencies (“Psychopaths’ Brain Show Differences in Structure and Function”). So psychiatrists are now able to examine an MRI of a brain and look at the prefrontal cortex to determine if they have a higher liability of having behavioral inconsistencies or psychopathic qualities, therefore providing a visual confirmation of a mental deformity. Robert M.

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.

The researchers, based at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, said the differences in psychopaths' brains mark them out even from other violent criminals with anti-social personality disorders (ASPD), and from healthy non-offenders. The study showed that psychopaths, who are characterised by a lack of empathy, had less grey matter in the areas of the brain important for understanding other people's emotions.

Now researchers are focusing more on theories of the neurobiological basis of psychopathy. The two most

Raine shares his personal research study of the brains of 41 murderers. He used a PET scan to scan all of their brains. He concluded that the murderers had poor prefrontal brain functioning and this correlates with antisocial and violent behaviors. Then he discusses how on the other hand, serial killers and psychopaths have good prefrontal brain functioning. He concludes how the limbic system, specifically the amygdala is malfunctioning in these types of individuals.

The brain structures of murderers and psychopaths, accordingly to Adrian Raine, “They’re impulsive. They are stimulation seekers…just to get that arousal jag that they’re missing, basically, from their lives.” Their violent approaches to committing crimes in society as conducted, studied and described by Raine involved with the regulating and controlling behavior of the prefrontal cortex; the emotional impact deep within the brain called the amygdale; and the enhancement of the brain functioning of mindfulness.

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning, reasoning. A study by Monte Buchsbaum (1985) examined the brain of 41 convicted murders who pleaded guilty under the reasons of insanity. The MRI scans of the participants displayed they had in fact psychological disorders, when compared to the control group of normal functioning brains. In certain locations of the murders brain they were found to have far less nerve cell activity. “The key difference between the murders and the control groups MRI scans was in the prefrontal cortex, the bundle of white matter behind the forehead” (Monmaney, 1998). The front lobe was displayed to have a large effect on the prevalence of aggression. The prefrontal cortex and amygdala are both localised in the frontal lobe. Both work collaboratively and influence the behaviour aggression and decision making in potentially life threatening situations. Another location of the brain contributing to aggression in the pre frontal cortex is the cingulate

Many things set psychopaths apart from normal people, but the qualities that psychopaths possess are what truly make them psychopaths. The brains' of psychopaths are always damaged in away that affects their ability to feel emotion the same way we do as well as their ability to control themselves from bringing harm to others. In "Exploring the mind of a Killer", a Ted Talk given by Jim Fallon, it is explained that all psychopaths "had damage to their orbital cortex...and also the interior part of the temporal lobe." The orbital cortex has a lot to do with emotions and decision making, so if it is damaged, the person may have trouble making desk ions skillfully and feeling accurate emotions for their situations (both traits that psychopaths

Violence is a physical act where we express anger and lead to injury, therefore control of violence is crucial in achieving world peace. We get our emotions, including anger or disappointment, from the amygdala of the limbic system. Together with the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, inhibition towards aggression can be achieved. (Psychology Today, 2013) In Raine’s study on brain activities of murderers and non-murderers, PET scans have shown that murdered have a less active prefrontal cortex. () With a weaker prefrontal cortex to act as a boundary to control all those anger within the mind, murderers tend to express their dissatisfaction easily. Another Raine’s study has shown that people who have antisocial personality disorder have brains

The purpose of this paper is to argue, using past literature, that psychopaths do not fully grasp acts as morally wrong and as a result psychopathy should be a mitigating factor in the judicial system. Psychopaths almost always have negative associations with their behaviors and mental states. Why? Psychopaths are known to become criminally violent and have a lack of remorse; a concept which frightens the majority of people. Furthermore, society only rarely sees or hears about psychopaths unless it is through an overdramatized pop culture lens (e.g. The Shinning, Jack Torrance) or a serial killer like Jeffery Dahmer, which is highly unlikely and only accounts for approximately 1% of psychopaths. Zinger and Forth (1998) found that

As stated in Science Daily’s article Brain Difference In Psychopaths Identified, psychopaths’ uncinate fasciculus have a large reduction in the integrity of the particles that compose it. The uncinate fasciculus, UF for short, connects the amygdale and the orbitofrontal cortex. The amygdale is responsible for one’s emotions, such as fear and aggression, whereas the orbitofrontal cortex is the region in the brain that deals with decision making. Researchers Declan Murphy, Michael Craig and Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London used a DT-MRI to analyze psychopaths’ UFs compared to non-psychopathic peoples’ UFs who have the same age and IQ. As I had noted, psychopaths’ UFs were incomplete and abnormal. Researchers

Psychopathy is a topic that receives more than its fair share of attention in the media. The very concept of psychopathy simultaneously fascinates and terrifies people as they attempt to understand the motivation of people who they deem to be very different than themselves. However, people rarely stop to consider the physiological differences in individuals with psychopathy, focusing instead on outward displays of sensational aggression. In order to assess the physiological components of psychopathy, it is necessary to consider theories on the physiological etiology of psychopathy, the ways in which the prefrontal cortex and amygdala work together to enhance psychopathic symptomology, and the ways in which lesions on the prefrontal cortex

Psychopaths, as deemed by most psychology researchers, are born with underdeveloped brain parts that are usually believed to be responsible for impulse control and emotion regulation. The amygdala, – a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions – when impaired, give rise to the functional impairments shown by individuals with psychopathy. It is therefore suggested that amygdala dysfunction is one of the core neural systems implicated in the pathology of psychopathy. (Blair et al, 1999)