Exam #2 - Concepts Flashcards
Low Fear
Study: Lykken = people with psychopathy are born with below average levels of fearfulness
- Poor Fear Conditioning = low fear makes it hard to learn associations between what’s fear or not
- Poor Passive Avoidance = Difficulty learning from past punishment (high commission errors)
- The fearlessness of psychopathic individuals make them difficult to socialize
- Reduced amygdala activation
Response Modulation (Including Attention Bottleneck)
Deficit that interferes with ability to use secondary or non-dominant information to regulate goal-directed behavior
- Have trouble integrating multiple pieces of information in the moment
Attention Bottleneck
Blocks the processing of secondary information that is not goal-relevant [serial processing]
Evidence:
1. Behavior (reaction time/accuracy), startle response (conditioning/picture-reviewing), and neural response (amygdala, IPFC)
- Exaggerated responding in the IPFC = causes the amygdala to under-react
How can low fear or response modulation explain impulsive/antisocial behavior?
How can low fear or response modulation explain interpersonal/affective deficits?
Moral decision-making in psychopathy and antisocially
vmPFC = deals with processing moral outcomes and inhibiting emotional responding
- Psychopaths = reduced vmPFC activation
- Psychopaths = Utilitarian responses
No differences in moral decision-making in people with ASPD/externalizing
Empathy Response in Psychopathy
Cognitive Empathy Tasks:
Explicit = Intact
Implicit = Reduced
Study: Avatar Task + Number of dots in the room [looking at reaction time]
- Psychopaths = good at taking the perspective of others [explicit/controlled] BUT less influenced by the perspective of others [implicit/automatic]
- Slower reaction time for automatic tasks
- Lack the tendency to take the perspective of other unless told to do so explicitly
Affective Empathy Tasks:
Explicit = Intact
Implicit = Reduced
Gene x Environment Interaction and Subtypes of Antisocial Behavior (know whether high or low expression, long or short alleles are related to what types of behaviors)
- MAOA-L + maltreatment –> CD
- MAOA-H + maltreatment –> CU
Brain and Experimental Task Evidence in CU Traits
What deficits are associated with psychopathy but not externalizing?
- Genetic Factors : High MAOA + Maltreatment
- Neural Features : higher IPFC activation (seed of a bottleneck, early attention), context-dependent amygdala hypo-activation (wether emotion/threat is a part of the goal)
- Cognitive-Emotional Features : exaggerated selective attention, context-dependent deficits in affect
- Behavior : proactive aggression
- Environment : low parental warmth, rejection by PROSOCIAL peers
What deficits are associated with externalizing but not psychopathy?
- Genetic Factors : Low MAOA + Maltreatment
- Neural Features : lower IPFC activation (seed of a bottleneck, early attention), amygdala _ Nac hyper-activation (more sensitive to threat/punishment)(reward processing)
- Cognitive-Emotional Features : EF deficits, Overly sensitive to affect
- Behavior :
- Environment : concentrated disadvantage, rejection by peers (generally)
What deficits are associated with externalizing AND psychopathy?
- Genetic Factors : heritability (though higher is psychopathy)
- Neural Features : deficient ACC (flexible control of behavior) + OFC (signaling the value of information)
- Behavior : irresponsibility, reactive aggression, high rates of criminal behavior, misuse of substances
- Environment : EVT, harsh parenting, low parental monitoring, maltreatment, problems in school
CD-CU
- Impulsive
- High anger/frustration
- Reaction Aggression
- Young Females: More anxiety problems
CD+CU
- More severe CD [assaulting + use of weapon]
- Higher rates of antisocial behavior [substance use, theft, lying]
- Severe + chronic violence [earlier and longer]
- Premeditated AND reactive aggression
- Young Females: more externalizing symptoms, bullying, relational aggression, less anxiety problems
