A new study found that psychopaths have changes in specific areas of the brain that deal with aspects such as impulses control and emotional regulation. This can help formulate targeted treatment and rehabilitation strategies.
Psychopaths seem to be walking contradictions, displaying antisocial (sometimes extreme) behavior and staying on the right side of a diagnosis of “insanity.”
But as one of the strongest predictors of aggressive and violent behavior, it is important to be able to accurately diagnose psychopathy, especially in the forensic context.
A study at the end of May in Springer Nature allowed to better understand psychopathy, using advanced brain images to identify structural changes that occur in the brain of individuals diagnosed with psychopathy.
As you write, researchers have focused on whether different psychopathic traits can be associated with different brain regions.
Psychopathy was measured using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), a scale of 20 items punctuated from information from interviews and files, which has two factors Main:
- Emotional distancing (for example, lack of guilt or empathy, superficial charm, manipulative).
- Antisocial behavior (For example, deviation from an early age, aggression, impulsivity, irresponsibility, trend for boredom).
The 20 items are classified on a scale of three points, from zero to two, based on the degree of correspondence between personality or subject behavior and the description of the item, which gives rise to a total score.
Researchers selected 39 men with a 20 or higher PCL-R score of German forensic institutions, including secure prisons and psychiatric hospitals. Were compared to non -psychopathic control individuals. All participants underwent brain magnetic resonance exams.
The researchers found that, in relation to the Factor 1 of PCL-R, there were only weak and inconsistent associations with the brain structure.
Some small brain areas, especially in the orbreal cortex and hippocampus, have shown some correlation. However, the results were not statistically robust – suggesting that these characteristics may involve more complex or varied brain circuits or may not reflect structural changes in the brain.
The answer is in factor 2
However, when it was the turn to analyze the Factor 2yes, clear and generalized negative associations with brain volume.
The main affected areas included the thalamus, the basal ganglia, the brain trunk and the island cortex, known to be involved in impulses control, emotional regulation and behavioral inhibition.
Colorful regions show where brain volume was associated with the deviant lifestyle and antisocial behavior in individuals with psychopathic traits
How is the brain of a psychopath?
The investigation concluded that individuals psychopaths have a smaller total brain volumeabout 1.45% less than non -psychopathic individuals.
This was especially verified in the cortex, the right subiculous (a part of the hippocampus), the anterior cingulates and the island cortices- Full areas for social behavior, emotions and self-control.
As New Atlas writes, study results help reinforce the fact that the impulsive and antisocial traits of psychopathy are linked to real and measurable brain differences, particularly in the circuits responsible for behavior regulation.
Understanding the cerebral regions associated with different psychopathic traits can boost the development of rehabilitation therapies and strategies.
In addition, knowledge of structural anomalies, such as those identified in the study, can improve the assessment of the risk of violent or antisocial behavior, especially in forensic contexts.
