The brain of psychopaths has differences in structure and function
Last reviewed: 08.08.2022
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The structure of the brain in people who are diagnosed with psychopathy is significantly different from the brain of healthy people, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA).
The study, which was conducted jointly between three laboratories in a high-security prison in the state of Wisconsin, is unique. The results of the study can help explain the antisocial and impulsive behavior of some psychopaths.
In their study, scientists compared images of MRI of the brain to 20 prisoners with a diagnosis of "psychopathy" with images of the brain of 20 other healthy prisoners who committed such crimes.
In the course of the study, the researchers found that the psychopath has a diminished relationship between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the part of the brain responsible for feelings such as empathy and guilt, and the amygdala, which is responsible for a sense of fear and anxiety. When MRI was performed in the diffusion tensor imaging mode, scientists found a reduction in structural integrity in white matter fibers connecting these regions, and in functional magnetic resonance imaging, less coordinated activity between vmPFC and amygdala.
"This is the first study that showed the structural and functional differences in the brains of people diagnosed with psychopathy," says Michael Koenigs, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin - "Two structures in the brain that regulate emotions and social behavior, as it turns out, do not properly are linked together. "
"The combination of structural and functional disorders serves as convincing evidence that the dysfunction observed in this social and emotional scheme is a stable characteristic of psychiatric offenders," says co-author Newman. "I'm sure our studies will shed more light on the source of this dysfunction and will help develop effective strategies for the treatment of psychopathy. "