Can psychopathy be prevented? Clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic data: an exploratory study.

The aim of the study was to explore the relationship among brain functional activations elicited by an emotional paradigm, clinical scores (PTSD, anxiety, and depression), psychopathic traits, and genetic characteristics (5-HTTLPR) in a group of severely maltreated children compared to a healthy control group before and after the implementation of a Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The final sample consisted of an experimental group of 14 maltreated children (mean age = 8.77 years old, S.D. = 1.83) recruited from a non-governmental shelter in Mexico City for children who had experienced child abuse and a control group of 10 children from the general population (mean age = 9.57 years old, S.D. = 1.91). Both groups were matched according to age and gender and were assessed before and after the implementation of the aforementioned therapy by means of clinical scales and an emotional paradigm that elicited brain activations which were recorded through functional magnetic resonance imaging. Genotyping of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism was made at first assessment. A region of interest analysis showed amygdala hyperactivation during exposure to fear and anger stimuli in the maltreated children before treatment. Following therapy, a decrease in brain activity as well as a decrease in clinical symptoms were also observed. 5-HTTLPR polymorphism did not show any effect on the severity of clinical symptoms in maltreated children. Trauma-Focused Behavioral Therapy may help reorganize the brain's processing of emotional stimuli. These observations reveal the importance of an early intervention when the mechanisms of neuroplasticity may be still recruited.

Early traumatic events in psychopaths.

The relationship between diverse early traumatic events and psychopathy was studied in 194 male inmates. Criminal history transcripts were revised, and clinical interviews were conducted to determine the level of psychopathy using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) Form, and the Early Trauma Inventory was applied to assess the incidence of abuse before 18 years of age. Psychopathic inmates presented a higher victimization level and were more exposed to certain types of intended abuse than sociopathic inmates, while the sum of events and emotional abuse were associated with the PCL-R score. Our studies support the influence of early adverse events in the development of psychopathic offenders.

Linkage of functional and structural anomalies in the left amygdala of reactive-aggressive men.

Amygdala structural and functional abnormalities have been associated to reactive aggression in previous studies. However, the possible linkage of these two types of anomalies has not been examined. We hypothesized that they would coincide in the same localizations, would be correlated in intensity and would be mediated by reactive aggression personality traits. Here violent (n = 25) and non-violent (n = 29) men were recruited on the basis of their reactive aggression. Callous-unemotional (CU) traits were also assessed. Gray matter concentration (gmC) and reactivity to fearful and neutral facial expressions were measured in dorsal and ventral amygdala partitions. The difference between responses to fearful and neutral facial expressions was calculated (F/N-difference). Violent individuals exhibited a smaller F/N-difference and gmC in the left dorsal amygdala, where a significant coincidence was found in a conjunction analysis. Moreover, the left amygdala F/N-difference and gmC were correlated to each other, an effect mediated by reactive aggression but not by CU. The F/N-difference was caused by increased reactivity to neutral faces. This suggests that anatomical anomalies within local circuitry (and not only altered input) may underlie the amygdala hyper-reactivity to social signals which is characteristic of reactive aggression.

Los eventos traumáticos tempranos y su relación con la psicopatía criminal / Early traumatic events and its relationship with criminal psychopathy

INTRODUCCION: Son diversos los factores que intervienen en el desarrollo de la psicopatía. Se ha observado una predisposición genética que al interactuar con la vivencia de eventos traumáticos en edades tempranas, potencia el desarrollo de este trastorno conductual, fuente de actos agresivos y violentos en contra de la sociedad. OBJETIVO: Conocer la incidencia de eventos traumáticos (p.ej. eventos estresantes, abuso físico, abuso emocional y abuso sexual) y su influencia en el nivel de psicopatía de adultos convictos masculinos. PARTICIPANTES Y MATERIAL: Se realizó una revisión del historial criminal y una entrevista semiestructurada para clasificar a los internos de acuerdo a su nivel de psicopatía. Se les aplicó el Inventario de Eventos Traumáticos para conocer la frecuencia y diversidad de eventos sufridos antes de los 18 años. RESULTADOS: Los internos con alta psicopatía presentaron una alta incidencia de eventos traumáticos, específicamente de eventos estresantes, de abuso emocional y de abuso sexual y un total de eventos significativamente mayor que el grupo con psicopatía baja. Los eventos traumáticos y el abuso emocional fueron variables que contribuyeron significativamente al nivel de psicopatía de los internos. CONCLUSIONES: Los eventos traumáticos vividos durante la infancia y la adolescencia favorecen la manifestación de conductas violentas a través de la afectación de los mecanismos neurobiológicos que subyacen a la psicopatía, en donde se puede observar una asociación entre la frecuencia de eventos vividos y el grado de psicopatía presentes en la vida adulta.

INTRODUCTION: The factors that interact to drive the development of psychopathy are diverse. A genetic predisposition has been observed that, when coupled with the experience of traumatic events at a young age, potentiates the development of this behavioral and affective disorder that leads to aggressive and violent acts against society. OBJECTIVES: To understand the incidence of traumatic events (e.g., stressful events, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse) and their influence in the psychopathy of adult male convicts. PARTICIPANTS AND MATERIALS: Background criminal career reviews and semi-structured interviews were conducted to classify the inmates according to their psychopathy level utilizing the Revised Hare Psychopathic Scale. In addition, the Early Trauma Inventory was applied to assess the frequency and diversity of events experienced before the participants were 18 years of age. RESULTS: Inmates with high psychopathy also presented with a high incidence of traumatic events, as well as stressful events, emotional and sexual abuse in a higher frequency than the group with low psychopathy. The incidence of traumatic events and emotional abuse were found to predict the degree of psychopathy among the inmates. CONCLUSIONS: Traumatic events experienced during infancy and adolescence seem to favor the manifestation of violent conduct by interacting with neurobiological factors that underlie psychopathy, such that an association may be observed between the frequency of childhood traumatic events and the level of psychopathy present in adult life.