Psychopathy and P3 amplitude: a commentary on Raine

Direct and mediated associations between P300 amplitude in childhood and substance use disorders outcome in young adulthood

BACKGROUND

Attenuated amplitude of the P300 wave has been frequently documented in youths at high risk for substance use disorders (SUDs). This investigation had two aims: 1) determine whether P300 amplitude in late childhood is a predictor of SUD outcome by age 19; and 2) evaluate whether neurobehavior disinhibition (ND) mediates this association.

METHODS

Boys (aged 10-12) were recruited through proband biological fathers with either a lifetime DSM-III-R diagnosis of SUD (N = 67) or no adult psychiatric disorder (N = 94). P300 amplitude was recorded during an auditory oddball task. Neurobehavior disinhibition was evaluated using tests of executive cognitive function, behavior under control, and emotion dysregulation. The relationship is assessed using multiple and logistic regressions.

RESULTS

Substance use disorder by age 19 was significantly predicted by P300 amplitude (odds ratio [OR] = .958; 95% confidence interval [CI] = .918-.999; Wald chi (2) = 3.992; df = 1; p = .045) and ND score (OR = 1.060; 95% CI = 1.023-1.098; Wald chi (2) = 10.267; df = 1; p = .0014) measured at age 10 to 12. P300 amplitude also significantly correlated with ND severity (beta = -.217; t = -2.412; df = 6,160; p = .017). Low P300 amplitudes were observed in children who succumbed to SUD by age 19.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that ND mediates the association between attenuated P300 amplitude in childhood and SUD at age 19; however, P300 amplitude is not a specific childhood marker of SUD.

Frontal P300 decrements, alcohol dependence, and antisocial personality disorder

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and interactive effects of alcohol dependence, antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), and age on brain function.

METHODS

P300 event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 393 alcohol-dependent and 170 non-alcohol-dependent adults while they performed a visual oddball task. The two subject groups were further subdivided based upon age and the presence/absence of ASPD.

RESULTS

Alcohol dependence was associated with a significant P300 amplitude decrement at anterior electrode sites only. Antisocial personality disorder was also associated with reduced P300 amplitudes at anterior electrode sites; however, the effects were only significant among subjects 30 years of age or younger. To validate this association between ASPD and P300 amplitude a correlational analysis was performed; the correlation between anterior P300 amplitude and the total number of childhood conduct disorder and adult ASPD symptoms was significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The P300 amplitude decrement found at anterior electrode sites among subjects with ASPD is consistent with the results of numerous ERP, neuroimaging, or neuropsychologic studies of anterior brain function. Our study is unique in suggesting that the effects of ASPD on anterior brain function are best detected during early adulthood. The study also suggests that the detrimental neurophysiologic effects of alcohol dependence predominantly involve the anterior brain.

Reduced P300 responses in criminal psychopaths during a visual oddball task

BACKGROUND

Clinicians have long recognized that psychopaths show deficits in cognitive function, but there have been few experimental studies exploring these deficits. We present here the first in a series of event-related potential (ERP) experiments designed to elucidate and characterize the neural correlates of cognitive processes of psychopaths.

METHODS

We recorded ERPs from a topographic array from 11 psychopathic and 10 nonpsychopathic prison inmates, assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, during performance of a visual oddball task. ERPs to target (25% of trials) and nontarget (75% of trials) visual stimuli were analyzed.

RESULTS

Consistent with previous research, there were no group differences in the latency or amplitude of the ERPs for the nontarget stimuli. For nonpsychopaths, the P300 amplitude was larger when elicited by the target stimuli than when elicited by the nontarget stimuli. In contrast, psychopaths failed to show reliable P300 amplitude differences between the target and nontarget conditions. Psychopaths had a smaller amplitude P300 to target stimuli than did nonpsychopaths. In addition, the amplitude of the P300 was less lateralized in psychopaths than in nonpsychopaths. Psychopaths also had a larger centrofrontal negative wave (N550) during the target condition than did nonpsychopaths.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that there are substantial differences between psychopaths and others in the processing of even simple cognitive tasks and provide support for information processing models of psychopathy.