Week 5

Question 1

What is the definition of psychopathy according to Hare (1998)?

Answer 1

Psychopathy is a condition characterized by 3 aspects: Interpersonal level, Affective level, Behavioural level

Question 2

What is the PCL-R?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

What are the two factors of the PCL-R?

Answer 3

1. Factor 1 (Interpersonal and Affective): Traits like superficial charm, lack of remorse, and callousness.
2. Factor 2 (Lifestyle and Antisocial): Behaviors like impulsivity, poor behavioral controls, and criminal versatility.

factor 2 more related to offedning behaviour

Question 4

Are psychopath and psychotic synonim?

Answer 4

no
* psychopaths are rational, not delusional, they do not care about consequences and they know what is right and wrong

Question 5

According to Frick, O’Brien, Wootton, & McBurnett(1994) psychopathy is a neurodevelopmental disorder, why?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what are callous-enemotional traits?

Answer 6

Lack of guilt
lack of empathy
shallow effect

Question 7

What are the symptoms of conduct disorder?

Answer 7

aggression, proprerty damage, rule violation, Deceitfulness

Symptoms must be significant enough to impair functioning in relationships, at school, or at work.

Question 8

what criteria needs to have the more severe diagnosis of conduct disorder ‘limited prosocial emotions’?

Answer 8

• 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)

Question 9

How do offenders with psychopathy compare to non-psychopaths regarding violent crimes?

Answer 9

They are more likely to have multiple violent convictions and reoffend more quickly and violently after release.

Question 10

What autonomic abnormalities are associated with psychopathy?

Answer 10

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).

Question 11

what brain areas ara associated with abnormalities in psychopaths

Answer 11

prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and hypothalamus

Question 12

Which brain regions are implicated in psychopathy-related impairments?

Answer 12

• vmPFC: Affective decision-making, moral judgment.
• Amygdala: Emotional response, learning from reward/punishment, empathy.

Question 13

How do lesions in the orbitofrontal lobe or amygdala affect behavior?

Answer 13

They can lead to increased impulsivity, poor decision-making, and lack of empathy.

Question 14

What is the aim of fMRI in psychopathy studies?

Answer 14

To understand brain functional correlates of processes impaired in psychopathy, such as response to negative emotional stimuli, processing emotional facial expressions, and empathy.

Question 15

Why do psychopaths lack empathy according to neuroimaging research?

Answer 15

They show impaired emotion recognition, such as difficulty recognizing sadness and fearfulness.

Question 16

What did Contreras-Rodriguez et al. (2014) find regarding psychopaths’ brain activation?

Answer 16

• 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)

Question 17

How do adolescents with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional traits respond to fearful facial expressions?

Answer 17

They show reduced amygdala responses (Jones et al., 2009; Marsh et al., 2008).

functional impairment influence regulation of amygdala

Question 18

How are callous traits in children linked to brain structure (population-based neuroimaging study)?

Answer 18

Associated with lower global brain volumes and decreased cortical surface area in frontal and temporal regions.

Question 19

What is the overlap between ASPD and psychopathy?

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

What are the societal costs of ASPD and conduct disorder (CD)?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

What are the sex differences in CD and ASPD?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

What are the common comorbidities with CD/ASPD?

Answer 22

Psychopathy, substance misuse, ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia.

Question 23

What neural abnormalities are associated with CD/ASPD?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What can contribute to ASPD/CD behaviors?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

In Contreras-Rodriguez et al. (2014), decreased connectivity between the amygdala and neocortical areas is associated with which behavior?

Answer 25

contributes to lack of empathy and instrumental aggression

Question 26

62. Which area is most implicated in emotional dysregulation in psychopathy?

Answer 26

Amygdala