1
|
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.
Collapse
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.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ruchensky JR, Bauer EA, Edens JF, MacNamara A. Triarchic psychopathy and affective picture processing: An event-related potential study. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108628. [PMID: 37429538 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathy and its precursors appear to be associated with abnormal affective response. For example, individuals high in psychopathy show reduced psychophysiological response to unpleasant stimuli, which might explain low levels of empathy in psychopathic individuals, and their pursuit of individual goals without regard for others' wellbeing. In keeping with the notion that psychopathology is best represented on a continuum, the triarchic model suggests that psychopathy is characterized by elevations on three traits: boldness, meanness and disinhibition. Understanding how these traits relate to psychophysiological response to emotional stimuli would help validate the triarchic model, while also bridging to other psychopathological spectra (e.g., internalizing psychopathology, which is characterized by low boldness). Here, N = 123 young adults passively viewed unpleasant, pleasant and neutral pictures while subjective and electrocortical response were recorded. Controlling for the other triarchic traits, individuals with higher self-reported meanness had smaller late positive potentials (LPPs) to both pleasant and unpleasant pictures, whereas individuals higher in boldness had larger LPPs to unpleasant pictures. In addition, those higher in meanness rated unpleasant pictures as more pleasant and less emotionally arousing. Disinhibition was not associated with the LPP or ratings. Meanness appears to drive blunted response to unpleasant pictures that has previously been observed among those high on psychopathy, and may also be associated with reduced engagement with generic pleasant stimuli. Moreover, results converge with prior work on other traits of transdiagnostic relevance (e.g., extraversion), as well as internalizing symptoms, providing a bridge between psychopathy and other forms of psychopathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jared R Ruchensky
- Department of Psychology & Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Bauer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - John F Edens
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Annmarie MacNamara
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ribes-Guardiola P, Ventura-Bort C, Poy R, Segarra P, Branchadell V, Moltó J. Attention-affect interactions and triarchic psychopathy: New electrophysiological insights from the late positive potential. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14222. [PMID: 36416527 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14222] [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: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
One of the most prominent characteristics of psychopathy is a reduced processing of emotionally relevant information. However, it is still unclear how attentional mechanisms may modulate this deficit. The current study aimed to examine the impact of attentional focus on emotion processing in relation to the triarchic constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Participants performed two tasks in which pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant framed pictures were presented. In the first task, participants were required to indicate the color of the frame (alternative-focus task), whereas in the second task they were instructed to indicate the emotional category of the image (affect-focus task). The Late Positive Potential (LPP) was used as an index of sustained engagement of attention to affective material. Confirming a successful task manipulation, we observed reduced LPP amplitudes, particularly for affective relevant material, in the alternative-focus task compared to the affect-focus task. Most interestingly, our results evidenced that trait meanness scores were associated with blunted elaborative processing of affective material (both appetitive and aversive) when this information was task-relevant (affect-focus task), but not when it was task-irrelevant (alternative-focus task). These findings indicate that high mean individuals are characterized by blunted elaborative processing of affective stimuli when their motivational relevance is determined in a top-down manner (i.e., when it is task-relevant). Our results highlight the need for further studying of the bottom-up and top-down dynamics of emotional attention in psychopathy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Ribes-Guardiola
- Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - Carlos Ventura-Bort
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Rosario Poy
- Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - Pilar Segarra
- Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - Victoria Branchadell
- Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - Javier Moltó
- Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Moreira D, Azeredo A, Barros S, Barbosa F. Exploring psychopathy traits on intertemporal decision-making, neurophysiological correlates, and emotions on time estimation in community adults. Heliyon 2022; 8:e09792. [PMID: 35800242 PMCID: PMC9254348 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
There are certain characteristics of psychopathy that may be related to changes in intertemporal choices. Specifically, traits such as impulsivity or lack of inhibitory control may be associated with a more pronounced discounting function in intertemporal choices (IC) and, in turn, this function may be based on changes in the basic mechanisms of time estimation (TE). Therefore, this study aimed to examine potential differences in neurophysiological correlates, specifically through N1, P3, and LPP measurements, which may be related to TE and IC, examining their modulation according to psychopathic traits, different emotional conditions, and different decision-making conditions. This experimental study included 67 adult participants (48 women) from the northern region of Portugal, who performed an intertemporal decision-making task and, of those, 19 participants (16 women), with a mean age of 25 years (SD = 5.41) and a mean of 16 years of schooling (SD = 3.37) performed the time estimation task. The instruments/measures applied were MoCA, used as a neurocognitive screening tool; the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), a self-report instrument with 58 items that map the core features of psychopathy along three facets – boldness, meanness, and disinhibition – and considers them continuously distributed among the general population; intertemporal decision-making and time estimation tasks – for the time estimation task, the stimuli consisted of 45 color images extracted from the Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS). In the TE task, there was an almost significant effect of disinhibition on the values of θ, with higher values on this variable associated with greater values of θ in the unpleasant emotional condition. In the IC task, there were no significant effects of any psychopathy measure on the values of the gains and losses ratios. In addition, the analysis of the neurophysiological correlates of the IC task did not reveal a main effect of the decision-making condition, nor effects of any psychopathy measure on the N1 and P3 amplitudes. The analysis of the neurophysiological correlates of the TE task revealed that higher meanness values are associated with smaller N1 amplitude in the pleasant emotional condition, whereas higher disinhibition values are associated with greater N1 amplitude in the pleasant emotional condition. Still in this task, higher disinhibition values were associated with a smaller LPP amplitude in the unpleasant emotional condition. The increase in the distribution of attention resources towards time and/or the increase in activation states, including those originated by responses to emotional stimuli, may be the main factor that alters the way impulsive individuals and, presumably, individuals with high psychopathy, consider time when making decisions. There are certain characteristics of psychopathy that may be related to changes in IC. Higher meanness values are associated with smaller N1 amplitude in the pleasant emotional condition (TE task). Higher disinhibition values are associated with greater N1 amplitude in the pleasant emotional condition (TE task). Higher disinhibition values were associated with a smaller LPP amplitude in the unpleasant emotional condition (TE task).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diana Moreira
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
- Observatory Permanent Violence and Crime (OPVC), University Fernando Pessoa, Portugal
- Institute of Psychology and Neuropsychology of Porto – IPNP Health, Portugal
- Centro de Solidariedade de Braga/Projecto Homem, Portugal
- Corresponding author.
| | - Andreia Azeredo
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
| | - Susana Barros
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
| | - Fernando Barbosa
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Moral judgments by individuals with psychopathic traits: An ERP study. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03034-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
6
|
Scheeff J, Schneidt A, Schönenberg M. Does attentional focus modulate affective information processing in male violent offenders with psychopathic traits? J Neurosci Res 2021; 99:2763-2773. [PMID: 34374120 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24941] [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: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Antisocial and psychopathic individuals are characterized by a reduced responsivity to affective information. Yet, the role of attentional processes as possible modulator of these deficits is poorly understood. The current study investigated early and late processing of emotional stimuli in a sample of incarcerated offenders while manipulating the attentional focus. Twenty-seven male violent offenders with psychopathic traits and 27 healthy controls completed two experimental tasks while electroencephalography (EEG) data were collected. Task 1 assessed indirect processing of emotional or neutral distractors during a perceptual judgment task, while Task 2 measured direct processing of the emotional or neutral stimuli and required participants to rate the stimuli regarding valence and arousal. EEG data indicated no differences in early stage processing (early posterior negativity) between the experimental groups. However, we found significant group differences with regard to the late processing stage (late positive potential, LPP). Controls showed increased LPP amplitudes in Task 2 as compared to Task 1, indicating that task demands (i.e., attentional focus) had an effect on the processing of the emotional stimuli. In contrast, LPP amplitudes in the violent offender group were largely unaffected by task demands, suggesting specific late alterations in the neural processing of emotional stimuli. In sum, this study provides new evidence for a modulatory impact of attention on affective information processing in male violent offenders with psychopathic traits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Scheeff
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Schneidt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael Schönenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Electrophysiological evidence that psychopathic personality traits are associated with atypical response to salient distractors. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 20:195-213. [PMID: 31898054 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00762-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to assess the neural mechanisms underlying visual-spatial attention abnormalities associated with psychopathic personality traits. Sixty-nine undergraduates (56 women, 13 men) completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and performed two cognitive tasks in which search displays containing a lateralized singleton encircled a fixation point that changed luminance from trial-to-trial. When searching for the singleton as a target, PPI-R scores were uncorrelated with ERP measures of its salience (Ppc), goal-directed selection (N2pc), and working memory evaluation (negative amplitude CDA). In contrast, when responding to the changes in luminance at fixation and ignoring the lateral singleton as a salient distractor, PPI-R Self-Centered Impulsivity factor scores were positively correlated with a potential indicator of distractor suppression (a sustained positive amplitude CDA). These findings provide support for a neurophysiological interpretation of the changes in visual-spatial attention associated with psychopathic personality traits: normal selection of target information accompanied by greater elimination of distractor information at a later visual working memory stage.
Collapse
|
8
|
Hu QC, Wei YL, Gu Q, Chen K, Dong JJ, Li SY, Wang WW, Zheng YB. Emotion regulation effect of baduanjin on college students: A pilot event-related potential study on late positive potential. WORLD JOURNAL OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE 2021. [DOI: 10.4103/wjtcm.wjtcm_43_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
|
9
|
Vallet W, Hone-Blanchet A, Brunelin J. Abnormalities of the late positive potential during emotional processing in individuals with psychopathic traits: a meta-analysis. Psychol Med 2020; 50:2085-2095. [PMID: 31477196 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719002216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with psychopathic traits display deficits in emotional processing. A key event-related potential component involved in emotional processing is the late positive potential (LPP). In healthy controls, LPP amplitude is greater in response to negative stimuli than to positive or neutral stimuli. In the current study, we aimed to compare LPP amplitudes between individuals with psychopathic traits and control subjects when presented with negative, positive or neutral stimuli. We hypothesized that LPP amplitude evoked by emotional stimuli would be reduced in individuals with psychopathic traits compared to healthy controls. METHODS After a systematic review of the literature, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare LPP amplitude elicited by emotional stimuli in individuals with psychopathic traits and healthy controls. RESULTS Individuals with psychopathic traits showed significantly reduced LPP amplitude evoked by negative stimuli (mean effect size = -0.47; 95% CI -0.60 to -0.33; p < 0.005) compared to healthy controls. No significant differences between groups were observed for the processing of positive (mean effect size = -0.15; 95% CI -0.42 to 0.12; p = 0.28) and neutral stimuli (mean effect size = -0.12; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.07; p = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS Measured by LPP amplitude, individuals with psychopathic traits displayed abnormalities in the processing of emotional stimuli with negative valence whereas processing of stimuli with positive and neutral valence was unchanged as compared with healthy controls.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William Vallet
- CH Le Vinatier, Lyon, Bron, France
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/Joliot, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Jerome Brunelin
- CH Le Vinatier, Lyon, Bron, France
- INSERM-U1028, CNRS-UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, PSYR2 Team, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Rozalski V, Benning SD. Divergences among Three Higher-Order Self-Report Psychopathology Factors in Normal-Range Personality and Emotional Late Positive Potential Reactivity. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2020; 82. [PMID: 32863467 DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Personality is related to psychopathology and its higher-order structures, but there is little research regarding neurobiological associations of higher-order psychopathology factors. This study examined the factor structure of a wide range of psychopathology and its associations with both personality and emotional reactivity revealed through the late positive potential (LPP) in a sample of 275 undergraduates. A three-factor structure of psychopathology emerged comprising Internalizing (INT), Externalizing (EXT), and Aberrant Experiences (ABX). EXT predicted aggressive disconstraint, whereas both INT and ABX predicted Alienation and Stress Reaction. INT uniquely predicted low Well-Being, and ABX predicted a rigid absorption combined with interpersonal detachment. ABX correlated with reduced parietal emotional LPP reactivity, whereas INT correlated with stronger frontal LPP reactivity to emotional versus neutral pictures.
Collapse
|
11
|
Paiva TO, Almeida PR, Coelho RC, Pasion R, Barbosa F, Ferreira‐Santos F, Bastos‐Leite AJ, Marques‐Teixeira J. The neurophysiological correlates of the triarchic model of psychopathy: An approach to the basic mechanisms of threat conditioning and inhibitory control. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13567. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago O. Paiva
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Imaging University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Pedro R. Almeida
- Faculty of Law School of Criminology Interdisciplinary Research Center on Crime, Justice and Security University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Rui C. Coelho
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Rita Pasion
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Fernando Barbosa
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Fernando Ferreira‐Santos
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | | | - João Marques‐Teixeira
- Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Castro MK, Bailey DH, Zinger JF, Martin EA. Late electrophysiological potentials and emotion in schizophrenia: A meta-analytic review. Schizophr Res 2019; 211:21-31. [PMID: 31324440 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There is mixed evidence about emotional processing abnormalities in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, with self-reports and clinician ratings indicating significant differences between patients and controls, but studies of in-the-moment, self-reported emotional experience finding only small differences between these groups. The current meta-analysis synthesizes statistics from studies measuring the P3 and LPP, two event-related potential (ERP) components sensitive to attentional allocation, to examine whether patients exhibit ERP response abnormalities to neutral and valenced visual stimuli. METHODS Standardized mean amplitudes and standard errors of P3 and/or LPP waveforms (300-2000 ms) in response to neutral and valenced images were calculated for 13 studies (total n = 339 individuals with schizophrenia, 331 healthy controls). RESULTS In response to neutral images, there were very small, non-significant differences in ERP amplitudes between patient and control groups (k = 9; Hedges' g = -0.06, 95% CI: -055, 0.43, p = 0.81). In contrast, patients showed a small, significant reduction in ERP amplitudes compared to controls in response to negative images (k = 13; Hedges' g = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.05, p = 0.02) and a small, but nonsignificant, reduction in amplitudes in response to positive images (k = 7; Hedges' g = -0.27, 95% CI: -0.71, 0.18, p = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The current review indicates that compared to controls, patients have slightly diminished P3 and LPP amplitudes in response to positive and negative stimuli. This small reduction may reflect decreased attention allocation, possibly indicating an abnormality during a distinct stage of early processing related to evaluating the motivational salience of a stimulus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mayan K Castro
- University of California, Irvine, United States of America.
| | - Drew H Bailey
- University of California, Irvine, United States of America.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Clark AP, Bontemps AP, Batky BD, Watts EK, Salekin RT. Psychopathy and neurodynamic brain functioning: A review of EEG research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 103:352-373. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
|
14
|
Ellis JD, Schroder HS, Patrick CJ, Moser JS. Emotional reactivity and regulation in individuals with psychopathic traits: Evidence for a disconnect between neurophysiology and self-report. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:1574-1585. [PMID: 28580638 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with psychopathic traits often demonstrate blunted reactivity to negative emotional stimuli. However, it is not yet clear whether these individuals also have difficulty regulating their emotional responses to negative stimuli. To address this question, participants with varying levels of psychopathic traits (indexed by the Triarchic Measure of Psychopathy; Patrick, 2010) completed a task in which they passively viewed, increased, or decreased their emotions to negative picture stimuli while electrocortical activity was recorded. During passive viewing of negative images, higher boldness, but not higher disinhibition or meanness, was associated with reduced amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP), an ERP that indexes reactivity to emotionally relevant stimuli. However, all participants demonstrated expected enhancement of the LPP when asked to increase their emotional response. Participants did not show expected suppression of the LPP when asked to decrease their emotional response. Contrary to the electrophysiological data, individuals with higher boldness did not self-report experiencing blunted emotional response during passive viewing trials, and they reported experiencing greater emotional reactivity relative to other participants when regulating (e.g., both increasing and decreasing) their emotions. Results suggest inconsistency between physiological and self-report indices of emotion among high-bold individuals during both affective processing and regulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer D Ellis
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.,Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Hans S Schroder
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Jason S Moser
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
As Far as the Eye Can See: Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0167436. [PMID: 28118366 PMCID: PMC5261620 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychopathic individuals show a range of affective processing deficits, typically associated with the interpersonal/affective component of psychopathy. However, previous research has been inconsistent as to whether psychopathy, within both offender and community populations, is associated with deficient autonomic responses to the simple presentation of affective stimuli. Changes in pupil diameter occur in response to emotionally arousing stimuli and can be used as an objective indicator of physiological reactivity to emotion. This study used pupillometry to explore whether psychopathic traits within a community sample were associated with hypo-responsivity to the affective content of stimuli. Pupil activity was recorded for 102 adult (52 female) community participants in response to affective (both negative and positive affect) and affectively neutral stimuli, that included images of scenes, static facial expressions, dynamic facial expressions and sound-clips. Psychopathic traits were measured using the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Pupil diameter was larger in response to negative stimuli, but comparable pupil size was demonstrated across pleasant and neutral stimuli. A linear relationship between subjective arousal and pupil diameter was found in response to sound-clips, but was not evident in response to scenes. Contrary to predictions, psychopathy was unrelated to emotional modulation of pupil diameter across all stimuli. The findings were the same when participant gender was considered. This suggests that psychopathy within a community sample is not associated with autonomic hypo-responsivity to affective stimuli, and this effect is discussed in relation to later defensive/appetitive mobilisation deficits.
Collapse
|