Week 5 Flashcards
What is the definition of psychopathy according to Hare (1998)?
Psychopathy is a condition characterized by 3 aspects: Interpersonal level, Affective level, Behavioural level
What is the PCL-R?
The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is an assessment tool that uses interviews and collateral information to diagnose psychopathy.
20 items
based on prison files and semi-structures interview
What are the two factors of the PCL-R?
- Factor 1 (Interpersonal and Affective): Traits like superficial charm, lack of remorse, and callousness.
- Factor 2 (Lifestyle and Antisocial): Behaviors like impulsivity, poor behavioral controls, and criminal versatility.
factor 2 more related to offedning behaviour
Are psychopath and psychotic synonim?
no
* psychopaths are rational, not delusional, they do not care about consequences and they know what is right and wrong
According to Frick, O’Brien, Wootton, & McBurnett(1994) psychopathy is a neurodevelopmental disorder, why?
youths with high level of Callous-unemotional traits are at risk of develop psychopathy
show reactive aggression and instrumental aggression (punch someone and they would also plan also a revenge)
low traits- just reactive aggression
what are callous-enemotional traits?
Lack of guilt
lack of empathy
shallow effect
What are the symptoms of conduct disorder?
aggression, proprerty damage, rule violation, Deceitfulness
Symptoms must be significant enough to impair functioning in relationships, at school, or at work.
what criteria needs to have the more severe diagnosis of conduct disorder ‘limited prosocial emotions’?
- needs to meet full criteria of conduct disorder
- showes two or more of the following :
lack of remorse of guilt
callous-lack if emphaty (doesn’t care about others’ feelings
unconcerned about performance
shallow or deficient affect (no showing emotions)
How do offenders with psychopathy compare to non-psychopaths regarding violent crimes?
They are more likely to have multiple violent convictions and reoffend more quickly and violently after release.
What autonomic abnormalities are associated with psychopathy?
Low resting heart rate.
Lower heart rate and blood pressure during emotional stimulation.
Reduced physiological response to punishment feedback.
*The cardiovascular abnormalities seen in psychopaths are generally assumed to be linked to Factor 2 of the PCL-R and are assumed be related to a fearlessness and sensation-seeking temperament (Dindo & Fowles, 2011).
what brain areas ara associated with abnormalities in psychopaths
prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and hypothalamus
Which brain regions are implicated in psychopathy-related impairments?
- vmPFC: Affective decision-making, moral judgment.
- Amygdala: Emotional response, learning from reward/punishment, empathy.
How do lesions in the orbitofrontal lobe or amygdala affect behavior?
They can lead to increased impulsivity, poor decision-making, and lack of empathy.
What is the aim of fMRI in psychopathy studies?
To understand brain functional correlates of processes impaired in psychopathy, such as response to negative emotional stimuli, processing emotional facial expressions, and empathy.
Why do psychopaths lack empathy according to neuroimaging research?
They show impaired emotion recognition, such as difficulty recognizing sadness and fearfulness.
What did Contreras-Rodriguez et al. (2014) find regarding psychopaths’ brain activation?
- Psychopaths showed greater activation in visual prefrontal cortices (meaning that the visual cortex is fine and they are not visually impaired)
- but decreased functional connectivity between these regions and the amygdala. (these regions don’t communicate)
How do adolescents with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional traits respond to fearful facial expressions?
They show reduced amygdala responses (Jones et al., 2009; Marsh et al., 2008).
functional impairment influence regulation of amygdala
How are callous traits in children linked to brain structure (population-based neuroimaging study)?
Associated with lower global brain volumes and decreased cortical surface area in frontal and temporal regions.
What is the overlap between ASPD and psychopathy?
ASPD overlaps with Factor 2 of psychopathy (impulsive and antisocial behavior), and higher scores in ASPD criteria B (b, c, d) may warrant psychopathy assessment.
What are the societal costs of ASPD and conduct disorder (CD)?
Adults: low employment, engagement in scams, harm to family, premature death, mental and physical health issues.
Children: disrupt schooling, physical aggression, involvement in crime and drug trade.
What are the sex differences in CD and ASPD?
Females have a later onset, engage in relational aggression, and are less aggressive overall.
Females with CD/ASPD often give birth young, putting their offspring at high risk for conduct problems.
What are the common comorbidities with CD/ASPD?
Psychopathy, substance misuse, ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia.
What neural abnormalities are associated with CD/ASPD?
Deficits in cortical and subcortical regions like the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, and insula.
- These areas are traditionally thought to be involved in emotion recognition and regulation, empathy, reward and punishment processing, and decision making
What can contribute to ASPD/CD behaviors?
It is influenced by genetic and environmental factors such as harsh parenting and peer victimization.
- genetic vulnerability and other factors including:
maternal smoking, alcohol use during pregnancy
In Contreras-Rodriguez et al. (2014), decreased connectivity between the amygdala and neocortical areas is associated with which behavior?
contributes to lack of empathy and instrumental aggression
- Which area is most implicated in emotional dysregulation in psychopathy?
Amygdala
