Psychopath

IMPORTANCE: A large number of structural neuroimaging studies have used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify gray matter abnormalities in youths with conduct problems (CP), but the findings have been disparate and few have been replicated. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis of published whole-brain structural neuroimaging studies on youths with CP that used VBM methods to facilitate replication and aid further analyses by researchers. DATA SOURCES: The PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were searched for VBM studies published from January 1, 2007, through March 31, 2015...

IMPORTANCE: Low resting heart rate is a well-replicated physiological correlate of aggressive and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents, but whether low resting heart rate increases the risk of violence and other antisocial and risk-taking behaviors in adulthood has not been studied in representative samples. OBJECTIVE: To study the predictive association of resting heart rate with violent and nonviolent criminality and with fatal and nonfatal injuries owing to assaults and unintentional injuries in the population...

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is characterized by a pattern of socially irresponsible, exploitative, and guiltless behaviour. ASPD is associated with co-occurring mental health and addictive disorders and medical comorbidity. Rates of natural and unnatural death (suicide, homicide, and accidents) are excessive. ASPD is a predictor of poor treatment response. ASPD begins early in life, usually by age 8 years. Diagnosed as conduct disorder in childhood, the diagnosis converts to ASPD at age 18 if antisocial behaviours have persisted...

This review discusses neurobiological studies of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder within the conceptual framework of three interrelated mental domains: punishment processing, reward processing, and cognitive control. First, impaired fear conditioning, reduced cortisol reactivity to stress, amygdala hyporeactivity to negative stimuli, and altered serotonin and noradrenaline neurotransmission suggest low punishment sensitivity, which may compromise the ability of children and adolescents to make associations between inappropriate behaviors and forthcoming punishments...

In this review an RDoC approach is applied to psychopathic traits. Two core neuro-cognitive systems relevant to the emergence of psychopathic traits are considered. These are the response to other individuals' emotional displays and reinforcement-based decision-making.

Although the traits of psychopathic personality (psychopathy) have received extensive attention from researchers in forensic psychology, psychopathology, and personality psychology, the relations of these traits to aspects of everyday functioning are poorly understood. Using a large internet survey of members of the general population (N = 3388), we examined the association between psychopathic traits, as measured by a brief but well-validated self-report measure, and occupational choice, political orientation, religious affiliation, and geographical residence...

The authors investigated the relationship between cinema and psychopathy to describe and analyze the portrayal of fictional psychopathic characters in popular films and over cinematic history. From 400 films (1915-2010), 126 fictional psychopathic characters (21 female and 105 male) were selected based on the realism and clinical accuracy of their profiles. Movies were then analyzed by senior forensic psychiatrists and cinema critics. Secondary (71%) and manipulative (48%) subtypes were the most common in the female group, while secondary (51%) and prototypical (34%) were the most common in the male group...