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Lukkarinen L, Tuisku J, Sun L, Helin S, Karlsson HK, Venetjoki N, Salomaa M, Rautio P, Hirvonen J, Lauerma H, Tiihonen J, Nummenmaa L. Aberrant type 2 dopamine receptor availability in violent offenders with psychopathy. Neuroimage 2024; 297:120724. [PMID: 38971486 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Psychopathy is characterized by antisocial behavior, poor behavioral control and lacking empathy, and structural alterations in the corresponding neural circuits. Molecular brain basis of psychopathy remains poorly characterized. Here we studied type 2 dopamine receptor (D2R) and mu-opioid receptor (MOR) availability in convicted violent offenders with high psychopathic traits (n = 11) and healthy matched controls (n = 17) using positron emission tomography (PET). D2R were measured with radioligand [11C]raclopride and MORs with radioligand [11C]carfentanil. Psychopathic subjects had lowered D2R availability in caudate and putamen, and striatal D2R availability was also associated with degree of psychopathic traits in this prisoner sample. No group differences were found in MOR availability, although in the prisoner sample, psychopathic traits were negatively correlated with MOR availability in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. We conclude that D2R signaling could be the putative neuromolecular pathway for psychopathy, whereas evidence for alterations in the MOR system is more limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lasse Lukkarinen
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Finland; Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, University of Turku, Finland
| | | | - Lihua Sun
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Semi Helin
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Finland
| | | | - Niina Venetjoki
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Marja Salomaa
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Päivi Rautio
- Turku Prison Outpatient Clinic, University of Turku, Finland
| | | | - Hannu Lauerma
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Jari Tiihonen
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm City Council, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland; Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Finland.
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2
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Alshukri S, Lyons M, Blinkhorn V, Muñoz L, Fallon N. Psychopathy, pain, and pain empathy: A psychophysiological study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306461. [PMID: 38968264 PMCID: PMC11226074 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The present study examined whether people higher in psychopathy experienced less self-reported and psychophysiological nociceptive pressure than people lower in psychopathy. We also examined whether psychopathy affects empathy for others' pain via self-reported and psychophysiological measures. Three hundred and sixty-nine students (18-78 years; M = 26, SD = 9.34) were screened for psychopathic traits using the Youth Psychopathy Inventory (YPI). Stratified sampling was used to recruit 49 adults residing in the highest (n = 23) and lowest (n = 26) 20% of the psychopathy spectrum. Using skin conductance response (SCR) and self-report responses, participants responded to individually adjusted intensities of pneumatic pressure and others' pain images and completed self-reported psychopathy and empathy measures (Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, TriPm; Interpersonal Reactivity Index, IRI). People higher in psychopathy self-reported feeling less nociceptive pressure compared to people lower in psychopathy, yet we did not find any differences in SCR to nociceptive pressure. However, when viewing other people in pain, the high psychopathy group displayed lower SCR and lower self-reported empathy compared to those lower in psychopathy. Our results suggest psychopathic traits relate to problems empathising with others' pain, as well as the perception of nociceptive pressure. We also show support for the theory of dual harm which has been receiving increasing attention. Consequently, psychopathy interventions should focus both on recognising and empathising with the pain of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Alshukri
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Minna Lyons
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Blinkhorn
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Luna Muñoz
- The Luminary Group Ltd., Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Fallon
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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3
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Ritchie MB, Compton SAH, Oliver LD, Finger E, Neufeld RWJ, Mitchell DGV. The impact of acute violent videogame exposure on neurocognitive markers of empathic concern. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae031. [PMID: 38727544 PMCID: PMC11223611 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Research examining the purported association between violent gaming and aggression remains controversial due to concerns related to methodology, unclear neurocognitive mechanisms, and the failure to adequately consider the role of individual differences in susceptibility. To help address these concerns, we used fMRI and an emotional empathy task to examine whether acute and cumulative violent gaming exposure were associated with abnormalities in emotional empathy as a function of trait-empathy. Emotional empathy was targeted given its involvement in regulating not only aggression, but also other important social functions such as compassion and prosocial behaviour. We hypothesized that violent gaming exposure increases the risk of aberrant social behaviour by altering the aversive value of distress cues. Contrary to expectations, neither behavioural ratings nor empathy-related brain activity varied as a function of violent gaming exposure. Notably, however, activation patterns in somatosensory and motor cortices reflected an interaction between violent gaming exposure and trait empathy. Thus, our results are inconsistent with a straightforward relationship between violent gaming exposure and reduced empathy. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering both individual differences in susceptibility and other aspects of cognition related to social functioning to best inform public concern regarding safe gaming practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary B Ritchie
- Graduate Program in Clinical Science and Psychopathology, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Shannon A H Compton
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Lindsay D Oliver
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5R0A3, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Robarts Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 2R5, Canada
- Parkwood Institute, St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada
| | - Richard W J Neufeld
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Derek G V Mitchell
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
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Kim AY, Kim YY. Reduced late positive potentials to distress in individuals with high psychopathic traits during pain judgment tasks. Biol Psychol 2024; 190:108810. [PMID: 38723762 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
This study examined the empathic processing of individuals with psychopathic traits and healthy controls in response to pain, applying affective perspective-taking (Self vs. Other). Twenty subjects with high psychopathic traits and twenty control subjects performed pain judgment tasks in the study. During the tasks, late positive potentials (LPPs) of the participants were measured to assess emotional processing in reaction to visual stimuli depicting painful or non-painful situations. In early LPP time stage (500-700 ms), the control group and the psychopathic trait group exhibited comparable levels of empathic processing regarding pain. However, in late LPP time window (700-1100 ms), the control group showed a greater LPP amplitude to Pain stimuli than No-pain stimuli, whereas the psychopathic trait group exhibited non-significant amplitude differences between Pain and No-pain stimuli. These findings imply that individuals with high psychopathic traits may swiftly terminate the processing and encounter difficulties in reappraising distress cues, especially in the late stage, providing psychophysiological support for distinctive empathic processing with temporal aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ah Yeong Kim
- Department of Forensic Psychology, Kyonggi University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Young Youn Kim
- Department of Forensic Psychology, Kyonggi University, Suwon, South Korea.
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Greenberg YDM, Holt R, Allison C, Smith P, Newman R, Boardman-Pretty T, Haidt J, Baron-Cohen S. Moral foundations in autistic people and people with systemizing minds. Mol Autism 2024; 15:20. [PMID: 38745228 PMCID: PMC11092219 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00591-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Do autistic people share the same moral foundations as typical people? Here we built on two prominent theories in psychology, moral foundations theory and the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory, to observe the nature of morality in autistic people and systemizers. METHODS In dataset 1, we measured five foundations of moral judgements (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) in autistic (n = 307) and typical people (n = 415) along with their scores on the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ). In dataset 2, we measured these same five foundations along with E-S cognitive types (previously referred to as "brain types") in a large sample of typical people (N = 7595). RESULTS Autistic people scored the same on Care (i.e., concern for others) as typical people (h1). Their affective empathy (but not their cognitive empathy) scores were positively correlated with Care. Autistic people were more likely to endorse Fairness (i.e., giving people what they are owed, and treating them with justice) over Care (h2). Their systemizing scores were positively correlated with Fairness. Autistic people or those with a systemizing cognitive profile had lower scores on binding foundations: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity (h3). Systemizing in typical people was positively correlated with Liberty (i.e., hypervigilance against oppression), which is a sixth moral foundation (h4). Although the majority of people in all five E-S cognitive types self-identified as liberal, with a skew towards empathizing (h5), the percentage of libertarians was highest in systemizing cognitive types (h6). E-S cognitive types accounted for 2 to 3 times more variance for Care than did sex. LIMITATIONS Our study is limited by its reliance on self-report measures and a focus on moral judgements rather than behavior or decision-making. Further, only dataset 2 measured political identification, therefore we were unable to assess politics in autistic people. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that some moral foundations in autistic people are similar to those in typical people (despite the difficulties in social interaction that are part of autism), and some are subtly different. These subtle differences vary depending on empathizing and systemizing cognitive types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeshaya David M Greenberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- CHIME Research, Center for Health Innovation, Music, and Education, Marlton, NJ, USA.
| | - Rosemary Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Carrie Allison
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paula Smith
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robbie Newman
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Theo Boardman-Pretty
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jonathan Haidt
- Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Maurer JM, Anderson NE, Allen CH, Kiehl KA. Examining the Association between Psychopathic Traits and Fearlessness among Maximum-Security Incarcerated Male Adolescents. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:65. [PMID: 38255377 PMCID: PMC10814550 DOI: 10.3390/children11010065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Studies have reported positive associations between youth psychopathy scores and measures of 'fearlessness'. However, prior studies modified fearlessness items to be age appropriate, shifting from assessing hypothetical, extreme forms of physical risk-taking (e.g., flying an airplane) to normative risk-taking (e.g., riding bicycles downhill). We hypothesize that associations between youth psychopathy scores and alternative forms of sensation seeking (i.e., Disinhibition) have been conflated under a false fearlessness label. We tested this hypothesis among incarcerated male adolescents, investigating whether youth psychopathy scores were significantly associated with two different forms of sensation seeking: Disinhibition and Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS). Youth psychopathic traits were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD), Child Psychopathy Scale (CPS), Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits (ICU), and Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI). Disinhibition and fearlessness (i.e., TAS) were assessed using an unmodified version of the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scales (SSS). Consistent with hypotheses, youth psychopathy scores were associated with higher Disinhibition and lower TAS scores. Our results contribute to a growing body of literature suggesting that psychopathic traits, including among adolescents, are not concomitant with physical risk-taking and descriptions of psychopathy including fearlessness distort a precise understanding of psychopathy's core features.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Michael Maurer
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; (J.M.M.)
| | - Nathaniel E. Anderson
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; (J.M.M.)
| | - Corey H. Allen
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; (J.M.M.)
| | - Kent A. Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; (J.M.M.)
- Departments of Psychology, Neuroscience and Law, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
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Oliva V, Riegner G, Dean J, Khatib LA, Allen A, Barrows D, Chen C, Fuentes R, Jacobson A, Lopez C, Mosbey D, Reyes M, Ross J, Uvarova A, Liu T, Mobley W, Zeidan F. WITHDRAWN: I feel your pain: Higher empathy is associated with higher posterior default mode network activity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.11.553004. [PMID: 37645854 PMCID: PMC10462016 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.11.553004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
The authors discovered an error in the primary analysis and have withdrawn the results from this version of the investigation.
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8
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Djerdjaj A, Rieger NS, Brady BH, Carey BN, Ng AJ, Christianson JP. Social affective behaviors among female rats involve the basolateral amygdala and insular cortex. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281794. [PMID: 37797037 PMCID: PMC10553809 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to detect, appraise, and respond to another's emotional state is essential to social affective behavior. This is mediated by a network of brain regions responsible for integrating external cues with internal states to orchestrate situationally appropriate behavioral responses. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the insular cortex are reciprocally connected regions involved in social cognition and prior work in male rats revealed their contributions to social affective behavior. We investigated the functional role of these regions in female rats in a social affective preference (SAP) test in which experimental rats approach stressed juvenile but avoid stressed adult conspecifics. In separate experiments, the BLA or the insula were inhibited by local infusion of muscimol (100ng/side in 0.5μL saline) or vehicle prior to SAP tests. In both regions, muscimol interfered with preference for the stressed juvenile and naive adult, indicating that these regions are necessary for appropriate social affective behavior. In male rats, SAP behavior requires insular oxytocin but there are noteworthy sex differences in the oxytocin receptor distribution in rats. Oxytocin (500nM) administered to the insula did not alter social behavior but oxytocin infusions to the BLA increased social interaction. In sum, female rats appear to use the same BLA and insula regions for social affective behavior but sex differences exist in contribution of oxytocin in the insula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Djerdjaj
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America
| | - Nathaniel S. Rieger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Bridget H. Brady
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America
| | - Bridget N. Carey
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America
| | - Alexandra J. Ng
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America
| | - John P. Christianson
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America
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9
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Winters DE, Sakai JT. Affective theory of mind impairments underlying callous-unemotional traits and the role of cognitive control. Cogn Emot 2023; 37:696-713. [PMID: 37017241 PMCID: PMC10330116 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2195154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Affective theory of mind (aToM) impairments associated with the youth antisocial phenotype callous-unemotional (CU) traits predict antisocial behaviour above CU traits alone. Importantly, CU traits associate with decrements in complex but not basic aToM. aToM is modulated by cognitive control and CU traits associate with cognitive control impairments; thus, cognitive control is a plausible mechanism underlying aToM impairments in CU traits. Because cognitive control is dependent on the availability of cognitive resources, youth with CU traits may have difficulty with allocating cognitive resources under greater demands that impact complex aToM. To test this, 81 participants (ages 12-14, Female = 51.8%, Male = 48.2%) were recruited to complete a behavioural paradigm that involved an initial aToM task with complex and basic emotions followed by placing additional demands on cognitive control and a final repeat of the same aToM task. Results indicate adolescents higher in CU traits had intact basic aToM but less accuracy in complex aToM that worsened after taxing cognitive control; and this load only required a short duration to account for ToM decrements (200 ms [range 150-1600 ms]). These results demonstrate CU traits association with cognitive control limitations that impact complex aToM. This may partially explain antisocial behaviour associated with CU traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew E Winters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Joseph T Sakai
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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10
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Djerdjaj A, Rieger NS, Brady BH, Carey BN, Ng AJ, Christianson JP. Social affective behaviors among female rats involve the basolateral amygdala and insular cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.02.526780. [PMID: 36778382 PMCID: PMC9915682 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.02.526780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The ability to detect, appraise, and respond to another's emotional state is essential to social affective behavior. This is mediated by a network of brain regions responsible for integrating external cues with internal states to orchestrate situationally appropriate behavioral responses. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the insular cortex are reciprocally connected regions involved in social cognition and prior work in male rats revealed their contributions to social affective behavior. We investigated the functional role of these regions in female rats in a social affective preference (SAP) test in which experimental rats approach stressed juvenile but avoid stressed adult conspecifics. In separate experiments, the BLA or the insula were inhibited by local infusion of muscimol (100ng/side in 0.5μL saline) or vehicle prior to SAP tests. In both regions, muscimol interfered with preference for the stressed juvenile and naive adult, indicating that these regions are necessary for appropriate social affective behavior. In male rats, SAP behavior requires insular oxytocin but there are noteworthy sex differences in the oxytocin receptor distribution in rats. Oxytocin (500nM) administered to the insula did not alter social behavior but oxytocin infusions to the BLA increased social interaction. In sum, female rats appear to use the same BLA and insula regions for social affective behavior but sex differences exist in contribution of oxytocin in the insula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Djerdjaj
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Nathaniel S Rieger
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Bridget H Brady
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Bridget N Carey
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Alexandra J Ng
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - John P Christianson
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
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11
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Winters DE, Hyde LW. Associated functional network connectivity between callous-unemotionality and cognitive and affective empathy. J Affect Disord 2022; 318:304-313. [PMID: 36063973 PMCID: PMC10039983 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.08.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low empathy is one component of affective impairments defining the antisocial youth phenotype callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Research suggests CU traits may be negatively associated with neural networks that are positively associated with cognitive and affective empathy - specifically the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience (SAL) networks. Determining which functional network connections are shared between CU traits and empathy could elucidate the extent to which CU traits shares neural substrates with cognitive versus affective empathy. The present study tested whether CU traits and both cognitive and affective empathy share network connections within and between the DMN, FPN, and SAL. METHODS Participants (n = 112, aged 13-17, 43 % female) completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and self-reports for CU traits and empathy as part of a Nathan-Kline Institute study. RESULTS Analyses revealed inverse associations with shared network connections between CU traits and both cognitive and affective empathy. Specifically, within-DMN connectivity negatively associated with CU traits, but positively associated with cognitive empathy; and between DMN-SAL connectivity positively associated with CU traits, but negatively associated with both cognitive and affective empathy. However, joint models revealed little variance explained by CU traits and empathy overlapped. LIMITATIONS The sample was cross-sectional collection with limited participants (n = 112) from the community that may not generalize to incarcerated adolescents. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate CU traits inversely associated with similar connectivity patterns as cognitive and affective empathy though prediction among constructs did not significantly overlap. Further investigation of these connections can inform a mechanistic understanding of empathy impairments in CU traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew E Winters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States of America.
| | - Luke W Hyde
- Department of Psychology and Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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12
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Penagos-Corzo JC, Cosio van-Hasselt M, Escobar D, Vázquez-Roque RA, Flores G. Mirror neurons and empathy-related regions in psychopathy: systematic review, meta-analysis, and a working model. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:462-479. [PMID: 36151909 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2128868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Mirror neurons have been associated with empathy. People with psychopathic traits present low levels of empathy. To analyze this, a systematic review of fMRI studies of people with psychopathic traits during an emotional facial expression processing task was performed. The regions of interest were structures associated with the mirror neuron system: ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), inferior parietal lobe (IPL), inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus. The analysis was also extended to structures related to affective empathy (insula, amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex) and to two more emotional processing areas (orbitofrontal cortex and fusiform gyrus). Hypoactivation was more frequently observed in regions of the mirror neuron system from people with high psychopathic traits, as well as in the emotional processing structures, and those associated with affective empathy, except for the insula, where it presented higher activity. Differences were observed for all types of emotions. The results suggest that the mirror neuron system is altered in psychopathy and their relationship with affective empathy deficits is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Rubén A Vázquez-Roque
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México
| | - Gonzalo Flores
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México
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13
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Deming P, Heilicher M, Koenigs M. How reliable are amygdala findings in psychopathy? A systematic review of MRI studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104875. [PMID: 36116578 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala is a key component in predominant neural circuitry models of psychopathy. Yet, after two decades of neuroimaging research on psychopathy, the reproducibility of amygdala findings is questionable. We systematically reviewed MRI studies (81 of adults, 53 of juveniles) to determine the consistency of amygdala findings across studies, as well as within specific types of experimental tasks, community versus forensic populations, and the lowest- versus highest-powered studies. Three primary findings emerged. First, the majority of studies found null relationships between psychopathy and amygdala structure and function, even in the context of theoretically relevant tasks. Second, findings of reduced amygdala activity were more common in studies with low compared to high statistical power. Third, the majority of peak coordinates of reduced amygdala activity did not fall primarily within the anatomical bounds of the amygdala. Collectively, these findings demonstrate significant gaps in the empirical support for the theorized role of the amygdala in psychopathy and indicate the need for novel research perspectives and approaches in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Deming
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Mickela Heilicher
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Michael Koenigs
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719, USA
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14
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Griem J, Kolla NJ, Tully J. Key challenges in neurocognitive assessment of individuals with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1007121. [PMID: 36119943 PMCID: PMC9478175 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1007121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Griem
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Julia Griem
| | - Nathan J. Kolla
- Department for Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Research and Academics, Division, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, ON, Canada
| | - John Tully
- Academic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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15
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No feelings for me, no feelings for you: A meta-analysis on alexithymia and empathy in psychopathy. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2022.111658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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16
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Lythe KE, Gethin JA, Workman CI, Lambon Ralph MA, Deakin JFW, Moll J, Zahn R. Subgenual activation and the finger of blame: individual differences and depression vulnerability. Psychol Med 2022; 52:1560-1568. [PMID: 32972471 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720003372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Subgenual cingulate cortex (SCC) responses to self-blaming emotion-evoking stimuli were previously found in individuals prone to self-blame with and without a history of major depressive disorder (MDD). This suggested SCC activation reflects self-blaming emotions such as guilt, which are central to models of MDD vulnerability. METHOD Here, we re-examined these hypotheses in an independent larger sample. A total of 109 medication-free participants (70 with remitted MDD and 39 healthy controls) underwent fMRI whilst judging self- and other-blaming emotion-evoking statements. They also completed validated questionnaires of proneness to self-blaming emotions including those related to internal (autonomy) and external (sociotropy) evaluation, which were subjected to factor analysis. RESULTS An interaction between group (remitted MDD v. Control) and condition (self- v. other-blame) was observed in the right SCC (BA24). This was due to higher SCC signal for self-blame in remitted MDD and higher other-blame-selective activation in Control participants. Across the whole sample, extracted SCC activation cluster averages for self- v. other-blame were predicted by a regression model which included the reliable components derived from our factor analysis of measures of proneness to self-blaming emotions. Interestingly, this prediction was solely driven by autonomy/self-criticism, and adaptive guilt factors, with no effect of sociotropy/dependency. CONCLUSIONS Despite confirming the prediction of SCC activation in self-blame-prone individuals and those vulnerable to MDD, our results suggest that SCC activation reflects blame irrespective of where it is directed rather than selective for self. We speculate that self-critical individuals have more extended SCC representations for blame in the context of self-agency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Lythe
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Jennifer A Gethin
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Clifford I Workman
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, Neuroscience & Psychiatry Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - John F W Deakin
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, Neuroscience & Psychiatry Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), 22280-080 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Roland Zahn
- The University of Manchester & Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), 22280-080 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, Centre for Affective Disorders, King's College London, London, SE5 8AZ, UK
- National Service for Affective Disorders, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, SE5 8AZ, UK
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17
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Yoder KJ, Harenski CL, Kiehl KA, Decety J. Psychopathic traits modulate functional connectivity during pain perception and perspective-taking in female inmates. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 34:102984. [PMID: 35276604 PMCID: PMC8907686 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PCL-R scores are associated with altered functional connectivity in female inmates. PCL-R Factor 1 and Factor 2 subscores predicted opposite shifts in connectivity. Functional connectivity in the salience network is altered during pain perception. Connectivity in the social cognition network is altered during perspective-taking.
The ability to share and understand the distress of others is critical for successful social interactions and is a fundamental building block of morality. Psychopathy is a personality disorder that includes lack of empathy and concern for others. In the present study, functional MRI was used to examine neural responses and functional connectivity associated with empathy and affective perspective-taking in female inmates (N = 109) with various levels of psychopathic traits, as measured with Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Participants viewed hands and feet in painful or non-painful situations while adopting a first person or third person perspective. All participants demonstrated robust neural responses in anterior insula (aINS), anterior cingulate (ACC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and supplementary motor area (SMA) when viewing pain, both during imagine-self and imagine-other blocks. Psychopathy shifted the functional connectivity seeded in core nodes of the salience and social cognition networks. Perceiving stimuli depicting somatic pain led to decreased functional coupling from right temporoparietal junction to superior temporal sulcus, which correlated with scores on PCL-R Factor 1 (Affective/Interpersonal). In contrast, connectivity from right insula to precuneus increased with Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial) scores. When adopting a third-person perspective, psychopathic traits modulated connectivity from the social cognition network, but not the salience network, with Factor 1 scores associated with increased connectivity to sensorimotor cortex and temporal pole, while Factor 2 scores were associated with decreased connectivity with ACC/SMA and inferior frontal gyrus. Overall, these results demonstrate that psychopathic traits in incarcerated females are associated with atypical functional connectivity within the salience network during pain-empathy processing and within the social cognition network during affective perspective-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Yoder
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Carla L Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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18
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Mendez MF. THE IMPLICATIONS OF FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA FOR BRAIN DYSFUNCTION IN PSYCHOPATHY. Biol Psychol 2022; 171:108342. [PMID: 35487297 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how psychopathy compares with brain disease can help clarify its underlying mechanisms. This literature review is a broad overview of the neurobiology of psychopathic traits in comparison to behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a disorder uniquely associated with criminal behavior. In addition to violation of social norms, both psychopathy and bvFTD result in impaired socioemotional perception and empathy, impulsivity, and altered moral judgment. Despite wide areas of decreased function in psychopathy, structural changes are primarily evident in amygdala and, to a lesser extent, anterior insula, whereas in bvFTD neuropathology involves a wider paralimbic region. In psychopathy, relatively intact medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices facilitate theory of mind and psychopathic traits such as deceitfulness and manipulation, bold fearlessness, and risk-taking behavior. In conclusion, many frontotemporal areas are hypoactive in psychopathy and bvFTD, but differences in dysfunctional connectivity in psychopathy vs. direct involvement in bvFTD potentially explain similarities and differences between these two conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario F Mendez
- Department of Neurology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA); Neurology Service, Neurobehavior Unit, V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
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19
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Sun L, Lukkarinen L, Noppari T, Nazari-Farsani S, Putkinen V, Seppälä K, Hudson M, Tani P, Lindberg N, Karlsson HK, Hirvonen J, Salomaa M, Venetjoki N, Lauerma H, Tiihonen J, Nummenmaa L. Aberrant motor contagion of emotions in psychopathy and high-functioning autism. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:374-384. [PMID: 35332920 PMCID: PMC9837606 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychopathy and autism are both associated with aberrant social skills and empathy, yet only psychopaths are markedly antisocial and violent. Here, we compared the functional neural alterations underlying these two groups that both have aberrant empathetic abilities but distinct behavioral phenotypes. We studied 19 incarcerated male offenders with high psychopathic traits, 20 males with high-functioning autism, and 19 age-matched healthy controls. All groups underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while they viewed dynamic happy, angry, and disgusted faces or listened to laughter and crying sounds. Psychopathy was associated with reduced somatomotor responses to almost all expressions, while participants with autism demonstrated less marked and emotion-specific alterations in the somatomotor area. These data suggest that psychopathy and autism involve both common and distinct functional alterations in the brain networks involved in the socioemotional processing. The alterations are more profound in psychopathy, possibly reflecting the more severely disturbed socioemotional brain networks in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihua Sun
- Corresponding author: Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, Turku FI-20521, Finland.
| | | | | | | | - Vesa Putkinen
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20521, Finland
| | - Kerttu Seppälä
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20521, Finland,Department of Medical Physics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Matthew Hudson
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20521, Finland
| | - Pekka Tani
- Department of Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | - Nina Lindberg
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | | | - Jussi Hirvonen
- Department of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Marja Salomaa
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Niina Venetjoki
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Hannu Lauerma
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland,Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku FI-20251, Finland,Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Jari Tiihonen
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm SE-11364, Sweden,Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm City Council, Stockholm SE-11364, Sweden,Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio FI-70240, Finland
| | - Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20521, Finland,Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, Turku FI-20521, Finland,Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku FI-20251, Finland
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20
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Rieger NS, Worley NB, Ng AJ, Christianson JP. Insular cortex modulates social avoidance of sick rats. Behav Brain Res 2022; 416:113541. [PMID: 34425184 PMCID: PMC8492531 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Avoidance of sick individuals is vital to the preservation of one's health and preventing transmission of communicable diseases. To do this successfully, one must identify social cues for sickness, which include sickness behaviors and chemosignals, and use this information to orchestrate social interactions. While many social species are highly capable with this process, the neural mechanisms that provide for social responses to sick individuals are only partially understood. To this end, we used a task in which experimental rats were allowed to investigate two conspecifics, one healthy and one sick. To imitate sickness, one conspecific received the viral mimic Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) and the other saline. In a 5-minute social preference test, experimental male and female adult rats avoided Poly I:C treated adult conspecifics but did not adjust social interaction in response to Poly I:C treated juvenile conspecifics. Seeking a neural locus of this behavior, we inhibited the insular cortex, a region necessary for social behaviors directed toward conspecifics in distress. Insular cortex inactivation via administration of the GABAA agonist muscimol to experimental rats prior to social preference tests eliminated the preference to avoid sick adult conspecifics. These results suggest that some aspect of conspecific illness may be encoded in the insular cortex which is anatomically positioned to coordinate a situationally appropriate social response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel S Rieger
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 USA
| | - Nicholas B Worley
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 USA
| | - Alexandra J Ng
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 USA
| | - John P Christianson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 USA.
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21
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Decety J, Holvoet C. The emergence of empathy: A developmental neuroscience perspective. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2021.100999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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22
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Remmel RJ, Glenn AL, Harrison AP. Relationship between psychopathic traits and performance on the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment in incarcerated males. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 61:867-874. [PMID: 34779514 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a constellation of personality traits such as callousness, manipulativeness, and impulsivity, and these traits often co-occur with antisocial behavior. Researchers and clinicians have posited that these traits may be associated with impairments in orbitofrontal cortex functioning, but researchers have rarely assessed this using clinical neuropsychological assessments. In a sample of 87 male inmates in a county jail, this study examined the relationship between psychopathic traits and performance on the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment (Mini-SEA), an assessment of orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Psychopathy scores (total or factor) were not correlated with Mini-SEA performance. Potential reasons for our null findings and study limitations are discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Psychopathic traits were not associated with performance on a neuropsychological measure assessing orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Deficits in OFC functioning observed in psychopathy may be different in nature, or less severe, than those observed in patients with frontotemporal dementia, who perform poorly on this measure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rheanna J Remmel
- Washington State Office of Forensic Mental Health Services, Tacoma, Washington, USA
| | - Andrea L Glenn
- Center for Youth Development and Intervention, Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
| | - Alexandra P Harrison
- Center for Youth Development and Intervention, Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
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23
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Fantozzi P, Sesso G, Muratori P, Milone A, Masi G. Biological Bases of Empathy and Social Cognition in Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Focus on Treatment with Psychostimulants. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1399. [PMID: 34827398 PMCID: PMC8615705 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, there has been growing interest in investigating the effect of specific pharmacological treatments for ADHD not only on its core symptoms, but also on social skills in youths. This stands especially true for ADHD patients displaying impulsive aggressiveness and antisocial behaviors, being the comorbidity with Disruptive Behavior Disorders, one of the most frequently observed in clinical settings. This systematic review aimed to synthesize research findings on this topic following PRISMA guidelines and to identify gaps in current knowledge, future directions, and treatment implications. Search strategies included the following terms: ADHD; methylphenidate and other ADHD drugs; empathy, theory of mind and emotion recognition. Full-text articles were retrieved and data from individual studies were collected. Thirteen studies were finally included in our systematic review. Ten studies assessing changes in empathy and/or theory of mind in patients with ADHD treated after pharmacological interventions were identified. Similarly, seven partially overlapping studies assessing changes in emotion recognition were retrieved. Despite a great heterogeneity in the methodological characteristics of the included studies, most of them reported an improvement in emphatic and theory of mind abilities in youths with ADHD treated with psychostimulants and nonstimulant drugs, as well as positive but less consistent results about emotion recognition performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Fantozzi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, 56128 Pisa, Italy; (P.F.); (G.S.); (P.M.); (A.M.)
| | - Gianluca Sesso
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, 56128 Pisa, Italy; (P.F.); (G.S.); (P.M.); (A.M.)
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Pietro Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, 56128 Pisa, Italy; (P.F.); (G.S.); (P.M.); (A.M.)
| | - Annarita Milone
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, 56128 Pisa, Italy; (P.F.); (G.S.); (P.M.); (A.M.)
| | - Gabriele Masi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, 56128 Pisa, Italy; (P.F.); (G.S.); (P.M.); (A.M.)
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24
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Harjunen VJ, Sjö P, Ahmed I, Saarinen A, Farmer H, Salminen M, Järvelä S, Ruonala A, Jacucci G, Ravaja N. Increasing Self-Other Similarity Modulates Ethnic Bias in Sensorimotor Resonance to Others' Pain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:673-682. [PMID: 34669949 PMCID: PMC9250302 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to simulate the pain of others within our own sensorimotor systems is a vital component of empathy. However, this sensorimotor resonance is modulated by a multitude of social factors including similarity in bodily appearance, e.g. skin colour. The current study investigated whether increasing self-other similarity via virtual transfer to another colour body reduced ingroup bias in sensorimotor resonance. A sample of 58 white participants was momentarily transferred to either a black or a white body using virtual reality technology. We then employed electroencephalography (EEG) to examine event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the sensorimotor beta (13-23 Hz) oscillations while they viewed black, white, and violet photorealistic virtual agents being touched with a noxious or soft object. While the noxious treatment of a violet agent did not increase beta ERD, amplified beta ERD in response to black agent's noxious vs. soft treatment was found in perceivers transferred to black body. Transfer to the white body dismissed the effect. Further exploratory analysis implied that the pain-related beta ERD occurred only when the agent and the participant were of the same colour. The results suggest that even short-lasting changes in bodily resemblance can modulate sensorimotor resonance to others' perceived pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ville Johannes Harjunen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Petja Sjö
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Imtiaj Ahmed
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aino Saarinen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Harry Farmer
- School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mikko Salminen
- Gamification Group, Faculty of Information Technology and Communications, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Simo Järvelä
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Gamification Group, Faculty of Information Technology and Communications, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Antti Ruonala
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Giulio Jacucci
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Niklas Ravaja
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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25
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Nummenmaa L, Lukkarinen L, Sun L, Putkinen V, Seppälä K, Karjalainen T, Karlsson HK, Hudson M, Venetjoki N, Salomaa M, Rautio P, Hirvonen J, Lauerma H, Tiihonen J. Brain Basis of Psychopathy in Criminal Offenders and General Population. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4104-4114. [PMID: 33834203 PMCID: PMC8328218 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychopathy is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy, and egotistical traits. These traits vary also in normally functioning individuals. Here, we tested whether such antisocial personalities are associated with similar structural and neural alterations as those observed in criminal psychopathy. Subjects were 100 non-convicted well-functioning individuals, 19 violent male offenders, and 19 matched controls. Subjects underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and viewed movie clips with varying violent content during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Psychopathic traits were evaluated with Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (controls) and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (offenders). Psychopathic offenders had lower gray matter density (GMD) in orbitofrontal cortex and anterior insula. In the community sample, affective psychopathy traits were associated with lower GMD in the same areas. Viewing violence increased brain activity in periaqueductal grey matter, thalamus, somatosensory, premotor, and temporal cortices. Psychopathic offenders had increased responses to violence in thalamus and orbitofrontal, insular, and cingulate cortices. In the community sample, impulsivity-related psychopathy traits were positively associated with violence-elicited responses in similar areas. We conclude that brain characteristics underlying psychopathic spectrum in violent psychopathy are related to those observed in well-functioning individuals with asocial personality features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, 20014, Finland
| | - Lasse Lukkarinen
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Lihua Sun
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Vesa Putkinen
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Kerttu Seppälä
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Tomi Karjalainen
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Henry K Karlsson
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Matthew Hudson
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Niina Venetjoki
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Marja Salomaa
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Päivi Rautio
- Turku Prison Outpatient Clinic, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku, FI-20251, Finland
| | - Jussi Hirvonen
- Turku PET Centre, and Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland
- Department of Radiology, Turku University and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Hannu Lauerma
- Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Health Care Services for Prisoners, Turku FI-20251, Finland
| | - Jari Tiihonen
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm City Council, Stockholm SE-11364, Sweden
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70240, Finland
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26
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Cheng Y, Chou J, Martínez RM, Fan YT, Chen C. Psychopathic traits mediate guilt-related anterior midcingulate activity under authority pressure. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14856. [PMID: 34290344 PMCID: PMC8295253 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94372-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Coercive power has different effects on individuals, and which were unable to be fully addressed in Milgram’s famous studies on obedience to authority. While some individuals exhibited high levels of guilt-related anxiety and refused orders to harm, others followed coercive orders throughout the whole event. The lack of guilt is a well-known characteristic of psychopathy, and recent evidence portrays psychopathic personalities on a continuum of clustered traits, while being pervasive in a significant proportion in the population. To investigate whether psychopathic traits better explain discrepancies in antisocial behavior under coercion, we applied a virtual obedience paradigm, in which an experimenter ordered subjects to press a handheld button to initiate successive actions that carry different moral consequences, during fMRI scanning. Psychopathic traits modulated the association between harming actions and guilt feelings on both behavioral and brain levels. This study sheds light on the individual variability in response to coercive power.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yawei Cheng
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan.,Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Judith Chou
- Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Róger Marcelo Martínez
- Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,School of Psychological Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
| | - Yang-Teng Fan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Chenyi Chen
- Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. .,Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. .,Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. .,Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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27
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Gillespie SM, Mitchell IJ, Beech AR, Rotshtein P. Processing of emotional faces in sexual offenders with and without child victims: An eye-tracking study with pupillometry. Biol Psychol 2021; 163:108141. [PMID: 34174382 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Socio-affective dysfunction is a risk-factor for sexual offense recidivism. However, it remains unknown whether men who have sexually offended with and without child victims show differences in eye scan paths and autonomic responsivity while viewing facial expressions of emotion. We examined differences in accuracy of emotion recognition, eye movements, and pupil dilation responses between sex offenders with child victims, sex offenders without child victims, and a group of non-offenders living in the community. Sex offenders without child victims looked for longer at the eyes than sex offenders with child victims and non-offenders. Men without child victims also scored higher for psychopathy linked disinhibition, and these traits were associated with looking longer at the eyes of afraid faces. We found no evidence for group differences in accuracy, visual attention to the mouth, or pupil dilation responses. Our findings have implications for understanding the nature of socio-affective dysfunction in sexual offenders.
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28
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Ashar YK, Andrews-Hanna JR, Halifax J, Dimidjian S, Wager TD. Effects of Compassion Training on Brain Responses to Suffering other. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:1036-1047. [PMID: 33948660 PMCID: PMC8483284 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Compassion meditation (CM) is a promising intervention for enhancing compassion, although its active ingredients and neurobiological mechanisms are not well-understood. To investigate these, we conducted a three-armed placebo-controlled randomized trial (N = 57) with longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We compared a 4-week CM program delivered by smartphone application with (i) a placebo condition, presented to participants as the compassion-enhancing hormone oxytocin, and (ii) a condition designed to control for increased familiarity with suffering others, an element of CM which may promote compassion. At pre- and post-intervention, participants listened to compassion-eliciting narratives describing suffering others during fMRI. CM increased brain responses to suffering others in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) relative to the familiarity condition, p < 0.05 family-wise error rate corrected. Among CM participants, individual differences in increased mOFC responses positively correlated with increased compassion-related feelings and attributions, r = 0.50, p = 0.04. Relative to placebo, the CM group exhibited a similar increase in mOFC activity at an uncorrected threshold of P < 0.001 and 10 contiguous voxels. We conclude that the mOFC, a region closely related to affiliative affect and motivation, is an important brain mechanism of CM. Effects of CM on mOFC function are not explained by familiarity effects and are partly explained by placebo effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoni K Ashar
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience., University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.,Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Joan Halifax
- Upaya Institute and Zen Center. Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Sona Dimidjian
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.,University of Colorado Boulder, Renee Crown Wellness Institute. Boulder, CO USA
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
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29
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Yoder KJ, Harenski C, Kiehl KA, Decety J. Neural responses to morally laden interactions in female inmates with psychopathy. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 30:102645. [PMID: 33838544 PMCID: PMC8045040 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Much of social cognition requires making inferences about the mental and emotional states of others. Moreover, understanding the emotions of others is an important foundation for moral decision-making. Psychopathy is associated with both aberrant emotional understanding and atypical hemodynamic responses when viewing and evaluating morally laden social interactions. In the present functional MRI study, female inmates (N = 107) were asked to evaluate the likely emotional state of either the recipient or the initiator of harmful or helpful interactions. Psychopathy was assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). PCL-R scores were not associated with differences in confidence or accuracy ratings. However, psychopathy scores were significantly related to increased hemodynamic response in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when viewing harmful interactions and decreased functional connectivity from right amygdala to inferior parietal cortex and insula, and from temporal parietal junction to dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Overall, this work indicates that in females, psychopathy is associated with normal behavioral accuracy and confidence but alterations in neural network activity during moral decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Yoder
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Carla Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Psychiatry, and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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30
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Aghajani M, Klapwijk ET, Andershed H, Fanti KA, van der Wee NJA, Vermeiren RRJM, Colins OF. Neural processing of socioemotional content in conduct-disordered juvenile offenders with limited prosocial emotions. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 105:110045. [PMID: 32735912 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reflecting evidence on Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of empathy and guilt, shallow affect), the DSM-5 added a categorical CU-based specifier for Conduct Disorder (CD), labeled 'with Limited Prosocial Emotions' (LPE). Theory and prior work suggest that CD youths with and without LPE will likely differ in neural processing of negative socioemotional content. This proposition, however, is mainly derived from studies employing related, yet distinct, operationalizations of CU traits (e.g., dimensional measure/median split/top quartile), thus precluding direct examination of LPE-specific neurocognitive deficits. METHODS Employing a DSM-5 informed LPE proxy, neural processing of recognizing and resonating negative socioemotional content (angry and fearful faces) was therefore examined here among CD offenders with LPE (CD/LPE+; N = 19), relative to CD offenders without LPE (CD/LPE-; N = 31) and healthy controls (HC; N = 31). RESULTS Relative to HC and CD/LPE- youths and according to a linearly increasing trend (CD/LPE- < HC < CD/LPE+), CD/LPE+ youths exhibited hyperactivity within dorsolateral, dorsomedial, and ventromedial prefrontal regions during both emotion recognition and resonance. During emotion resonance, CD/LPE+ youths additionally showed increased activity within the posterior cingulate and precuneal cortices in comparison to HC and CD/LPE- youths, which again followed a linearly increasing trend (CD/LPE- < HC < CD/LPE+). These effects moreover seemed specific to the LPE specifier, when compared to a commonly employed method for CU-based grouping in CD (i.e., median split on CU scores). CONCLUSIONS These data cautiously suggest that CD/LPE+ youths may exhibit an over-reliance on cortical neurocognitive systems when explicitly processing negative socioemotional information, which could have adverse downstream effects on relevant socioemotional functions. The findings thus seem to provide novel, yet preliminary, clues on the neurocognitive profile of CD/LPE+, and additionally highlight the potential scientific utility of the LPE specifier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moji Aghajani
- Amsterdam UMC/VUMC, Dept. of Psychiatry, the Netherlands; Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands.
| | - Eduard T Klapwijk
- Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands; Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Brain and Development Research Center, the Netherlands
| | - Henrik Andershed
- Örebro University, Dept. of Behavioral, Social, and Legal Sciences, Sweden
| | | | - Nic J A van der Wee
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands; Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. of Psychiatry, the Netherlands
| | - Robert R J M Vermeiren
- Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands
| | - Olivier F Colins
- Leiden University Medical Center, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands; Örebro University, Dept. of Behavioral, Social, and Legal Sciences, Sweden; Ghent University, Dept. Special Needs Education, Belgium
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31
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Chang SAA, Tillem S, Benson-Williams C, Baskin-Sommers A. Cognitive Empathy in Subtypes of Antisocial Individuals. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:677975. [PMID: 34290630 PMCID: PMC8287099 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.677975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive empathy allows individuals to recognize and infer how others think and feel in social situations and provides a foundation for the formation and maintenance of mutually constructive relationships. It may seem intuitive to assume that individuals who engage in antisocial behavior, who disregard the rights of others, might have problems with cognitive empathy. However, careful examination of the literature suggests that any dysfunction in cognitive empathy associated with antisociality varies by subtype of antisocial individual and is specific to subcomponents of cognitive empathy. In this review, we (1) briefly define subtypes of antisocial individuals ("psychopathic" vs. "antisocial-only"), (2) summarize specific components of cognitive empathy; (3) review existing literature examining cognitive empathy through questionnaires, behavioral tasks, and neuroimaging within different antisocial subtypes; and (4) discuss the limitations of the current research and potential future directions. Individuals in the psychopathic subtype fail to implicitly engage in cognitive empathy, and potentially lack insight into this issue reflected in no self-reported problems with cognitive empathy, but show an ability to engage in cognitive empathy when explicitly required. Individuals in the antisocial-only subtype appear able to engage in cognitive empathy, showing no differences on questionnaire or behavioral tasks that tap explicit cognitive empathy, but may display subtle difficulties accurately inferring (affective theory of mind) the emotions of others. We end the review by noting areas for future research, including the need to: (1) document the patterns of equifinality that exist across levels of analysis for these antisocial subtypes; (2) examine the temporality of empathy and antisociality development; (3) carefully consider and label subcomponents of cognitive empathy in research on antisocial behavior; and (4) investigate the intersection among environmental experiences, cognitive empathy, and antisocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-An A Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Scott Tillem
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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32
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Dugré JR, Radua J, Carignan-Allard M, Dumais A, Rubia K, Potvin S. Neurofunctional abnormalities in antisocial spectrum: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies on Five distinct neurocognitive research domains. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:168-183. [PMID: 32956690 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Past functional magnetic resonance imaging on antisocial subjects have shown important inconsistencies and methodological problems (e.g. heterogeneity in fMRI tasks domain, small sample sizes, analyses on regions-of-interest). We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of whole-brain fMRI studies on antisocial individuals based on distinct neurocognitive domains. A voxel-based meta-analysis via permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) was performed on studies using fMRI tasks in the domains of acute threat response, cognitive control, social cognition, punishment and reward processing. Overall, 83 studies were retrieved. Using a liberal statistical threshold, several key regions were identified in the meta-analysis, principally during acute threat response, social cognition and cognitive control tasks. Additionally, we observed that the right amygdala was negatively associated with both callous-unemotional traits and severity of antisocial behaviors, in meta-analyses on region-of-interest and on dimensional studies, respectively. The findings show that the most prominent functional brain deficits arise during acute threat response, social cognitions and cognitive control neurocognitive domains. These results provide substantial insights for our understanding of aberrant neural processing across specific contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jules R Dugré
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Joaquim Radua
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, England; Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Alexandre Dumais
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Institut National De Psychiatrie Légal Philippe-Pinel, Montreal, Canada
| | - Katya Rubia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stéphane Potvin
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
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33
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Deming P, Dargis M, Haas BW, Brook M, Decety J, Harenski C, Kiehl KA, Koenigs M, Kosson DS. Psychopathy is associated with fear-specific reductions in neural activity during affective perspective-taking. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117342. [PMID: 32898678 PMCID: PMC9831240 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychopathic individuals are notorious for their callous disregard for others' emotions. Prior research has linked psychopathy to deficits in affective mechanisms underlying empathy (e.g., affective sharing), yet research relating psychopathy to cognitive mechanisms underlying empathy (e.g., affective perspective-taking and Theory of Mind) requires further clarification. To elucidate the neurobiology of cognitive mechanisms of empathy in psychopathy, we administered an fMRI task and tested for global as well as emotion-specific deficits in affective perspective-taking. Adult male incarcerated offenders (N = 94) viewed images of two people interacting, with one individual's face obscured by a shape. Participants were cued to either identify the emotion of the obscured individual or identify the shape from one of two emotion or shape choices presented on each trial. Target emotions included anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral. Contrary to predictions, psychopathy was unrelated to neural activity in the Affective Perspective-taking > Shape contrast. In line with predictions, psychopathy was negatively related to task accuracy during affective perspective-taking for fear, happiness, and sadness. Psychopathy was related to reduced hemodynamic activity exclusively during fear perspective-taking in several areas: left anterior insula extending into posterior orbitofrontal cortex, right precuneus, left superior parietal lobule, and left superior occipital cortex. Although much prior research has emphasized psychopathy-related abnormalities in affective mechanisms mediating empathy, current results add to growing evidence of psychopathy-related abnormalities in a cognitive mechanism related to empathy. These findings highlight brain regions that are hypoactive in psychopathy when explicitly processing another's fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Deming
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 West Johnson St., Madison, WI, United States,Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, Wisconsin, United States,Corresponding authors. (P. Deming), (D. Kosson)
| | - Monika Dargis
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 West Johnson St., Madison, WI, United States,Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Brian W. Haas
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, United States,Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Georgia, S150 Paul D. Coverdell Center, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Michael Brook
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 420 E Superior St., Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Ave., Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Carla Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States,Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
| | - Kent A. Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States,Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
| | - Michael Koenigs
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, Wisconsin, United States
| | - David S. Kosson
- Department of Psychology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States,Corresponding authors. (P. Deming), (D. Kosson)
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34
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Zhao Y, Rütgen M, Zhang L, Lamm C. Pharmacological fMRI provides evidence for opioidergic modulation of discrimination of facial pain expressions. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13717. [PMID: 33140886 PMCID: PMC7816233 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The endogenous opioid system is strongly involved in the modulation of pain. However, the potential role of this system in perceiving painful facial expressions from others has not been sufficiently explored as of yet. To elucidate the contribution of the opioid system to the perception of painful facial expressions, we conducted a double‐blind, within‐subjects pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, in which 42 participants engaged in an emotion discrimination task (pain vs. disgust expressions) in two experimental sessions, receiving either the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone or an inert substance (placebo). On the behavioral level, participants less frequently judged an expression as pain under naltrexone as compared to placebo. On the neural level, parametric modulation of activation in the (putative) right fusiform face area (FFA), which was correlated with increased pain intensity, was higher under naltrexone than placebo. Regression analyses revealed that brain activity in the right FFA significantly predicted behavioral performance in disambiguating pain from disgust, both under naltrexone and placebo. These findings suggest that reducing opioid system activity decreased participants' sensitivity for facial expressions of pain, and that this was linked to possibly compensatory engagement of processes related to visual perception, rather than to higher level affective processes, and pain regulation. The behavioral and neural findings of this psychopharmacological fMRI study shed light on a causal role of the opioid system in the discrimination of painful facial expressions, paving the way for further exploration of clinical implications in the domains of pain diagnosis and treatment, on the one hand, and future research on the relationship between basic socio‐perceptual processing and empathy, on the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yili Zhao
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lei Zhang
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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35
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Workman CI, Yoder KJ, Decety J. The Dark Side of Morality - Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence. AJOB Neurosci 2020; 11:269-284. [PMID: 33196349 PMCID: PMC7939028 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2020.1811798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
People are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence. The current study examined this dark side of morality by identifying specific cognitive and neural mechanisms associated with beliefs about the appropriateness of sociopolitical violence, and determining the extent to which the engagement of these mechanisms was predicted by moral convictions. Participants reported their moral convictions about a variety of sociopolitical issues prior to undergoing functional MRI scanning. During scanning, they were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of violent protests that were ostensibly congruent or incongruent with their views about sociopolitical issues. Complementary univariate and multivariate analytical strategies comparing neural responses to congruent and incongruent violence identified neural mechanisms implicated in processing salience and in the encoding of subjective value. As predicted, neuro-hemodynamic response was modulated parametrically by individuals' beliefs about the appropriateness of congruent relative to incongruent sociopolitical violence in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and by moral conviction in ventral striatum. Overall moral conviction was predicted by neural response to congruent relative to incongruent violence in amygdala. Together, these findings indicate that moral conviction about sociopolitical issues serves to increase their subjective value, overriding natural aversion to interpersonal harm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clifford I. Workman
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Keith J. Yoder
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
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36
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Berluti K, O’Connell KM, Rhoads SA, Brethel-Haurwitz KM, Cardinale EM, Vekaria KM, Robertson EL, Walitt B, VanMeter JW, Marsh AA. Reduced Multivoxel Pattern Similarity of Vicarious Neural Pain Responses in Psychopathy. J Pers Disord 2020; 34:628-649. [PMID: 33074056 PMCID: PMC9796697 DOI: 10.1521/pedi.2020.34.5.628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a personality construct characterized by interpersonal callousness, boldness, and disinhibition, traits that vary continuously across the population and are linked to impaired empathic responding to others' distress and suffering. Following suggestions that empathy reflects neural self-other mapping-for example, the similarity of neural responses to experienced and observed pain, measurable at the voxel level-we used a multivoxel approach to assess associations between psychopathy and empathic neural responses to pain. During fMRI scanning, 21 community-recruited participants varying in psychopathy experienced painful pressure stimulation and watched a live video of a stranger undergoing the same stimulation. As total psychopathy, coldheartedness, and self-centered impulsivity increased, multivoxel similarity of vicarious and experienced pain in the left anterior insula decreased, effects that were not observed following an empathy prompt. Our data provide preliminary evidence that psychopathy is characterized by disrupted spontaneous empathic representations of others' pain that may be reduced by instructions to empathize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Berluti
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
| | | | - Shawn A. Rhoads
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
| | | | - Elise M. Cardinale
- National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Emily L. Robertson
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
| | - Brian Walitt
- National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda. Maryland
| | - John W. VanMeter
- Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC
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Hofhansel L, Weidler C, Votinov M, Clemens B, Raine A, Habel U. Morphology of the criminal brain: gray matter reductions are linked to antisocial behavior in offenders. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:2017-2028. [PMID: 32591929 PMCID: PMC7473962 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02106-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Aggression and psychopathy are multifaceted conditions determined interpersonal and antisocial factors. Only a few studies analyze the link between these separate factors and specific brain morphology distinctively. A voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was performed on 27 violent offenders and 27 controls aiming to associate sub-features of aggressive and psychopathic behavior with specific gray matter volumes. Trait aggression was assessed using two self-report tests (Aggression Questionnaire, AQ, and Reactive-Proactive-Aggression Questionnaire, RPQ) and psychopathy with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Total and sub-scale scores of these tests were correlated to the brain morphometry of the offenders group in separate analyses. It was found that psychopathic behavior was negatively correlated with prefrontal gray matter volume and that this result was primarily driven by the antisocial behavior sub-scale of the PCL-R. Furthermore, less gray matter in right superior frontal and left inferior parietal regions with increasing antisocial behavior could be observed. One cluster comprising the right middle and superior temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with both, reactive aggression and antisocial behavior. These results outline (1) the importance of distinctively analyzing sub-features that contribute to aggressive and psychopathic behavior, given that the negative correlation of psychopathy global scores with prefrontal volume was driven by one single facet of the PCL-R scale (antisocial behavior). Moreover, these results indicate (2) fronto-temporo-parietal network deficits in antisocial, criminal offenders, with a particular strong effect in the temporal lobe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Hofhansel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Carmen Weidler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mikhail Votinov
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Adrian Raine
- Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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Overgaauw S, Jansen M, de Bruijn ER. Self-centered or other-directed: Neural correlates of performance monitoring are dependent on psychopathic traits and social context. Cortex 2020; 129:199-210. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Decety J. [The contribution of forensic neuroscience to psychopathy]. L'ENCEPHALE 2020; 46:301-307. [PMID: 32312566 PMCID: PMC7398850 DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2020.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a construct characterized by symptoms of emotional detachment, a lack of empathy, guilt and remorse, irresponsibility and a propensity for impulsive behavior. This article critically evaluates the contribution of structural and functional neuroimaging to the understanding of this personality disorder in North American forensic populations with psychopathic traits. Neuroimaging results are highly variable. They report numerous structural and functional abnormalities that are not limited to the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex but include the striatum, hippocampus, and uncinate fasciculus. These brain abnormalities underlie an attenuated emotion processing functioning (but not an absence) and aversion to negative and threats signals, reinforcement learning, representation of rewards and modulation of attention that have an impact in decision-making, caring for others, and moral judgment. It is important to note that the neuroanatomical, neurofunctional, and behavioral differences between individuals with high psychopathic traits and those with low traits are highly heterogeneous and of degree rather than of nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Decety
- Department of psychology and department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5848, South University avenue, 60637 Chicago, IL, États-Unis.
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Maffei A, Polver S, Spironelli C, Angrilli A. EEG gamma activity to emotional movies in individuals with high traits of primary "successful" psychopathy. Brain Cogn 2020; 143:105599. [PMID: 32652444 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate emotional alterations in a community sample with primary psychopathic traits. Sixty males selected from a larger sample and divided in two groups, High (HP) and Low (LP) primary Psychopathy, watched 15 validated emotional movies divided in five categories (Erotic, Neutral, Fear, and the new Scenery and Compassion). Subjective responses and cortical activity in the EEG Gamma band (30-49 Hz) were recorded. Concerning self-reports, HP participants felt less anxious and anguished in response to Fear clips and less sad, touched and anguished by Compassion excerpts. Negative clips induced larger EEG Gamma activity in both groups compared to neutral and erotic movies, but Gamma activity to Fear movies was reduced in HP. This group showed also a small cortical response to positive Scenery movies, at the level of the Neutral ones. Source analysis showed in HP participants a reduced cortical activation to Fear in a large brain network, comprising the right prefrontal and temporal cortices and bilateral inferior parietal cortex. Results showed that primary psychopathy, in addition to the impaired response to Fear, was associated with a reduced response also to other specific categories of emotional stimuli, suggesting an altered affect on a broader scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Maffei
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Silvia Polver
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Spironelli
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; PNC - Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Via Orus 2, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angrilli
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; IN CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Padova Section, Viale Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy; PNC - Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Via Orus 2, 35131 Padova, Italy.
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Blair RJR. Dysfunctional neurocognition in individuals with clinically significant psychopathic traits
. DIALOGUES IN CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 21:291-299. [PMID: 31749653 PMCID: PMC6829175 DOI: 10.31887/dcns.2019.21.3/rblair] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The main goal of this review is to consider the main forms of dysfunctional
neurocognition seen in individuals with clinically significant psychopathic traits (ie,
reduced guilt/empathy and increased impulsive/antisocial behavior). A secondary goal is
to examine the extent to which these forms of dysfunction are seen in both adults with
psychopathic traits and adolescents with clinically significant antisocial behavior that
may also involve callous-unemotional traits (reduced guilt/empathy). The two main forms
of neurocognition considered are emotional responding (to distress/pain cues and
emotional stimuli more generally) and reward-related processing. Highly related forms of
neurocognition, the response to drug cues and moral judgments, are also discussed. It is
concluded that dysfunction in emotional responsiveness and moral judgments confers risk
for aggression across adolescence and into adulthood. However, reduced reward-related
processing, including to drug cues, is only consistently found in adolescents with
clinically significant antisocial behavior, not adults with
psychopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert James R Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, US
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van Dongen JDM. The Empathic Brain of Psychopaths: From Social Science to Neuroscience in Empathy. Front Psychol 2020; 11:695. [PMID: 32477201 PMCID: PMC7241099 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a crucial human ability, because of its importance to prosocial behavior, and for moral development. A deficit in empathic abilities, especially affective empathy, is thought to play an important role in psychopathic personality. Empathic abilities have traditionally been studied within the social and behavioral sciences using behavioral methods, but recent work in neuroscience has begun to elucidate the neural underpinnings of empathic processing in relation to psychopathy. In this review, current knowledge in the social neuroscience of empathy is discussed and a comprehensive view of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie empathy in psychopathic personality is provided. Furthermore, it will be argued that using classification based on overt behavior, we risk failing to identify important mechanisms involved in the psychopathology of psychopathy. In the last decade, there is a growing attention in combining knowledge from (neuro)biological research areas with psychology and psychiatry, to form a new basis for categorizing individuals. Recently, a converging framework has been put forward that applies such approach to antisocial individuals, including psychopathy. In this bio-cognitive approach, it is suggested to use information from different levels, to form latent categories on which individuals are grouped, that may better reflect underlying (neurobiological) dysfunctions. Subsequently, these newly defined latent categories may be more effective in guiding interventions and treatment. In conclusion, in my view, the future understanding of the social brain of psychopaths lies in studying the complex networks in the brain in combination with the use of other levels of information (e.g., genetics and cognition). Based on that, profiles of individuals can be formed that can be used to guide neurophysiological informed personalized treatment interventions that ultimately reduce violent transgressions in individuals with psychopathic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josanne D. M. van Dongen
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Boissoneault J, Penza CW, George SZ, Robinson ME, Bishop MD. Comparison of brain structure between pain-susceptible and asymptomatic individuals following experimental induction of low back pain. Spine J 2020; 20:292-299. [PMID: 31479781 PMCID: PMC6995409 DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2019.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND CONTEXT Peripheral differences often do not adequately account for variation in reports of pain intensity in people with musculoskeletal pain. PURPOSE Here we sought to determine the extent to which structural differences in the brain (grey matter density) of pain free individuals might relate to subsequent pain (or lack thereof) after standardized peripheral muscle injury (ie, micro trauma from high intensity exercise). STUDY DESIGN This was an observational laboratory-based study that was a secondary analysis from a larger trial. METHODS Participants completed baseline testing (functional MRI and quantitative pain testing) followed by high intensity trunk exercise to induce delayed onset muscle soreness in the erector spinae. Forty-eight hours later, back pain intensity ratings were collected and all participants were re-imaged. Grey matter density was determined using voxel-based morphometry. The "asymptomatic" group (no reports of any pain within 48 hours after induction) to a 'pain' group (rating of pain at rest and movement pf>20 on a 101-point numeric rating scale). RESULTS Our results revealed several large clusters where, compared to participants with pain, asymptomatic participants had significant greater grey matter density. These brain regions included left medial frontal gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS Lower grey matter density in brain regions previously linked to discriminative, emotional, and cognitive aspects of cortical processing are associated with reporting musculoskeletal pain after a standardized peripheral muscle injury. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Cortical gray matter density of people without any pain may influence response to a standardized high intensity exercise protocol. This finding adds further support to the relevance of central factors in explaining the tremendous individual variability in pain report following acute musculoskeletal injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff Boissoneault
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Charles W Penza
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Miami Veteran's Affairs Health System, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Steven Z George
- Duke Clinical Research Institute and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University, NC, USA
| | - Michael E Robinson
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Mark D Bishop
- Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100154, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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44
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Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. Moral Motivation and the Basal Forebrain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:207-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Psychopathy is associated with shifts in the organization of neural networks in a large incarcerated male sample. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:102083. [PMID: 31795050 PMCID: PMC6861623 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathy is linked to disruptions in neural information processing. Graph analysis revealed that psychopathy impacts neural network organization. Psychopathy is linked to a hyper-efficiently organized dorsal attention network. Subcortical structures are less central to neural communication in psychopathy. No psychopathy differences were found in default or salience network graph metrics.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder defined by antisocial behavior paired with callousness, low empathy, and low interpersonal emotions. Psychopathic individuals reliably display complex atypicalities in emotion and attention processing that are evident when examining task performance, activation within specific neural regions, and connections between regions. Recent advances in neuroimaging methods, namely graph analysis, attempt to unpack this type of processing complexity by evaluating the overall organization of neural networks. Graph analysis has been used to better understand neural functioning in several clinical disorders but has not yet been used in the study of psychopathy. The present study applies a minimum spanning tree graph analysis to resting-state fMRI data collected from male inmates assessed for psychopathy with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (n = 847). Minimum spanning tree analysis provides several metrics of neural organization optimality (i.e., the effectiveness, efficiency, and robustness of neural network organization). Results show that inmates higher in psychopathy exhibit a more efficiently organized dorsal attention network (β = =0.101, pcorrected = =0.018). Additionally, subcortical structures (e.g., amygdala, caudate, and hippocampus) act as less of a central hub in the global flow of information in inmates higher in psychopathy (β = =−0.104, pcorrected = =0.048). There were no significant effects of psychopathy on neural network organization in the default or salience networks. Together, these shifts in neural organization suggest that the brains of inmates higher in psychopathy are organized in a fundamentally different way than other individuals.
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Rosenberger LA, Pfabigan DM, Lehner B, Keckeis K, Seidel EM, Eisenegger C, Lamm C. Fairness norm violations in anti-social psychopathic offenders in a repeated trust game. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:266. [PMID: 31636249 PMCID: PMC6803633 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0606-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychopathic offenders have a high propensity to violate social norms, as indicated for instance by their widespread lying and cheating behaviour. The reasons for their norm violations are not well understood, though, as they are able to recognise norms in a given situation and also punish norm violators. In this study, we investigated whether psychopathic offenders would violate fairness norms during a repeated trust game because of increased profit-maximising concerns. We measured back-transfer decisions in the repeated trust game, and affective arousal by means of skin conductance responses (SCR) in violent offenders with varying degrees of psychopathy, and non-offenders with low-trait psychopathy. Psychopathy in offenders was measured with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). In the task, a participant and an interaction partner entrusted each other money for multiple rounds with the goal to earn as much money as possible. Fairness norm violations were positively associated with Factor 2 scores (the lifestyle/anti-social psychopathy subscale) of the PCL-R, but this was not accompanied by clear profit-maximising behaviour. In addition, anticipatory arousal to self-advantageous decisions was higher in all offenders, independent of their degree of psychopathy, compared with non-offenders. The results of our study widen our understanding of social decision-making in psychopathy. They also suggest treatment possibilities in offenders scoring high on Factor 2, targeting empathic concern and related prosocial intentions to overcome norm-violating behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Rosenberger
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Daniela M Pfabigan
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Benjamin Lehner
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Katinka Keckeis
- Prison for Mentally Disordered Offenders (Justizanstalt Wien Mittersteig), Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva-Maria Seidel
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Eisenegger
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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Lasko EN, Chester DS, Martelli AM, West SJ, DeWall CN. An investigation of the relationship between psychopathy and greater gray matter density in lateral prefrontal cortex. PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 2:e7. [PMID: 32435742 PMCID: PMC7219674 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2019.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathic traits predispose individuals toward antisocial behavior. Such antagonistic acts often result in "unsuccessful" outcomes such as incarceration. What mechanisms allow some people with relatively high levels of psychopathic traits to live "successful", unincarcerated lives, in spite of their antisocial tendencies? Using neuroimaging, we investigated the possibility that "successful" psychopathic individuals exhibited greater development of neural structures that promote "successful" self-regulation, focusing on the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Across two structural magnetic resonance imaging studies of "successful" participants (Study 1: N = 80 individuals in long-term romantic relationships; Study 2: N = 64 undergraduates), we observed that gray matter density in the left and right VLPFC was positively associated with psychopathic traits. These preliminary results support a compensatory model of psychopathy, in which "successful" psychopathic individuals develop inhibitory mechanisms to compensate for their antisocial tendencies. Traditional models of psychopathy that emphasize deficits may be aided by such compensatory models that identify surfeits in neural and psychological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N. Lasko
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - David S. Chester
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | | | - Samuel J. West
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - C. Nathan DeWall
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
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Fourie MM, Stein DJ, Solms M, Gobodo-Madikizela P, Decety J. Effects of early adversity and social discrimination on empathy for complex mental states: An fMRI investigation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12959. [PMID: 31506497 PMCID: PMC6737126 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49298-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There is extensive evidence of an association between early adversity and enduring neural changes that impact socioemotional processing throughout life. Yet little is known about the effects of on-going social discrimination on socioemotional functioning. Here we examined how cumulative experiences of social discrimination impact brain response during empathic responding—a crucial issue in South Africa, given its historical apartheid context and continuing legacies. White and Black South Africans completed measures of social adversity (early adversity and social discrimination), and underwent fMRI while viewing video clips depicting victims and perpetrators of apartheid crimes. Increased neural response was detected in brain regions associated with cognitive rather than affective empathy, and greater social adversity was associated with reduced reported compassion across participants. Notably, social discrimination (due to income level, weight, gender) in White participants was associated with increased amygdala reactivity, whereas social discrimination (due to race) in Black participants mediated the negative associations of temporoparietal junction and inferior frontal gyrus activation with compassion during emotionally provocative conditions. These findings suggest that (i) social discrimination has comparable associations at the neural level as other psychosocial stressors, and that (ii) the mechanisms underlying empathic responding vary as a function of the type of social discrimination experienced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melike M Fourie
- Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
| | - Dan J Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mark Solms
- Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
- Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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49
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Xiao M, Zhu W, Wei J, Lei X, Xia LX. The relationship among resting-state brain activity and connectivity, agreeableness and displaced aggression: Two possible mediation models. J Affect Disord 2019; 256:641-649. [PMID: 31299446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Displaced aggression is a specific form of attack prompted by rumination on anger experiences and revenge thought which might lead to expression of anger on innocent people. There is sufficient evidence demonstrating the potential role of agreeableness in reducing displaced aggression in theory. However, little is known about the neural basis of displaced aggression and how agreeableness and the underlying neural mechanisms link to displaced aggression. METHODS In this investigation, we examined these issues on 123 college students by assessing resting-state brain activity (i.e. amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, ALFF) and connectivity (i.e. resting-state functional connectivity, RSFC). RESULTS Whole-brain correlation analysis revealed that a higher level of displaced aggression was linked with decreased ALFF in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and decreased RSFC between the left dmPFC and left ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Mediation analysis further revealed that left dmPFC activity and the left dmPFC-vmPFC connectivity mediated the relationship between agreeableness and displaced aggression, as well as agreeableness mediated the relation between left dmPFC activity and the left dmPFC-vmPFC connectivity and displaced aggression. LIMITATIONS Only ALFF and RSFC were used as indicators of brain function in this study. The two mediation models need to be further tested by longitudinal design or experimental methods in further studies. CONCLUSIONS This study suggested that dmPFC and vmPFC might be the functional neural markers of displaced aggression and provided two possible mediation models regarding the relationship among the resting-state brain activity and connectivity, agreeableness and displaced aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyue Xiao
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Ministry of Education, China
| | - Wenfeng Zhu
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Ministry of Education, China
| | - Jiaming Wei
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Ministry of Education, China
| | - Xu Lei
- Sleep and NeuroImaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Ministry of Education, China.
| | - Ling-Xiang Xia
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Ministry of Education, China.
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50
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Maffei A, Spironelli C, Angrilli A. Affective and cortical EEG gamma responses to emotional movies in women with high vs low traits of empathy. Neuropsychologia 2019; 133:107175. [PMID: 31449821 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The present study sought to investigate how differences in trait empathy can influence emotional reactivity to a specific set of affective categories. Forty-one female students, divided in High (HE, n = 20) and Low (LE, n = 21) trait empathy, watched eight validated movie clips divided in four emotional categories (Erotic, Fear, Compassion and Neutral) while subjective evaluation of emotion and EEG gamma activity were recorded. Analysis of self-reports revealed that HE compared to LE exhibited an increased arousal level to all emotional clips. Concerning EEG data, the HE group showed a greater cortical gamma to all the emotional categories compared to the Neutral, while the LE group had greater response only to the negative clips. Participants in the HE group also showed a strong positive correlation between subjective arousal and cortical activity in response to Fear and Compassion clips. The greatest correlation was found to Compassion clips and was located in the right inferior parietal lobe (r(18) = 0.63), an important hub for both sensory-emotion integration and empathic sharing of others' emotions. Results suggest that high empathy was associated with enhanced gamma activity and greater self-reported arousal to all emotional stimuli. Furthermore, in this group, scenes with crying characters prompted a distinctive and localized cortical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Maffei
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Spironelli
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; PNC - Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angrilli
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; IN CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Padova Section, Italy; PNC - Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy.
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