Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

Question 1

define ASPD

Answer 1

behaviour that lacks consideration fro others and that may cause damage to society

Question 2

what are symptoms of ASPD

Answer 2

1. lack of consideration
2. no empathy
3. poor impulse control
4. aggressive

Question 3

What did the MRI studies on ASPD reveal

Answer 3

white and grey matter are insensitive to stress

reduced PFC grey matter

lower autonomic response (body doesn’t alert them in stressful situations)

Question 4

what did the Neuro-imaging studies reveal on ASPD

Answer 4

impairment of the ventral and dorsal regions of the PFC, amygdala, hippocampus and temporal cortex

Question 5

define Psychopath

Answer 5

subset of ASPD

manipulative, smart people with ASPD, but with impulse control.

even smaller amygdala, lack of feelings.

Question 6

define mask of sanity

Answer 6

psychopaths can fake normal emotions even though they don’t have them.

Question 7

explain the lack of empathy paradox

Answer 7

psychopaths showed reduced empathy in the first found of fMRI studies, but the second round these differences largely disappeared.

they can empathise once they are instructed to, but won’t do it on their own

Question 8

what is fear conditioning

Answer 8

fear conditioning is a basic form of learning mediated by the amygdala

it is a mechanism by which we link the antisocial acts with negative consequences.

Question 9

what are the results of fear conditioning research

Answer 9

poor fear conditioning early in life implicates amygdala dysfunction and a lack of fear of socialising punishments in children who grow up to be criminals.

Question 10

what is the link between MAO-A and ASPD

Answer 10

childhood maltreatment is a universal risk factor for ASPD.

people with the MAO-A gene are vulnerable to the negative effects of their environment, and studies show that the combination of the MAO-A gene and maltreatment that induces severe ASPD.