Effects of psychopathic traits on preferential recall and recognition of emotionally evocative photos.

Psychopathic traits are associated with impaired emotional processing. The present study examines the potential association between psychopathic traits and memory for emotional stimuli. Although a significant body of research suggests that memory is heightened for emotional stimuli, it is unclear how psychopathic traits may disrupt this process. Eighty-two male jail inmates completed an emotional memory task as well as portions of a standardised memory assessment. Psychopathic traits were not associated with the ability to freely recall images of positive, negative or neutral valence that participants had seen more than 15 min prior; psychopathic traits were also not associated with the ability to recognise these previously viewed images when shown them again. Exploratory analyses indicated trends toward reduced accuracy in recognising both positive and negative, but not neutral, emotional stimuli in individuals with higher levels of interpersonal and affective traits of psychopathy. As expected, psychopathy was unrelated to non-emotion-related memory functioning in auditory and visual domains as measured by the Wechsler Memory Scales 4th Edition. Overall, these results do not support the hypothesis that psychopathic traits significantly interfere with memory for emotional stimuli.

Relationship between psychopathic traits and performance on the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment in incarcerated males.

Psychopathy is a constellation of personality traits such as callousness, manipulativeness, and impulsivity, and these traits often co-occur with antisocial behavior. Researchers and clinicians have posited that these traits may be associated with impairments in orbitofrontal cortex functioning, but researchers have rarely assessed this using clinical neuropsychological assessments. In a sample of 87 male inmates in a county jail, this study examined the relationship between psychopathic traits and performance on the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment (Mini-SEA), an assessment of orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Psychopathy scores (total or factor) were not correlated with Mini-SEA performance. Potential reasons for our null findings and study limitations are discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Psychopathic traits were not associated with performance on a neuropsychological measure assessing orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Deficits in OFC functioning observed in psychopathy may be different in nature, or less severe, than those observed in patients with frontotemporal dementia, who perform poorly on this measure.

Neurocognitive characteristics of youth with noncomorbid and comorbid forms of conduct disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Studies investigating neurocognitive deficits in youth with conduct disorder (CD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often confounded by the high rates of comorbidity between the two. METHOD: Neurocognitive functioning was examined in three diagnostic groups (ADHD only, CD only, comorbid ADHD and CD) matched by age, sex, IQ, and medication status (n=28-32 per group). RESULTS: No significant differences emerged between the diagnostic groups on measures of risk-taking or response inhibition. Children with CD performed better on a measure of spatial planning than those with comorbid ADHD and CD, and dimensional analyses in the full sample (n=265) revealed a small association between ADHD symptoms and poorer spatial planning. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that deficits in spatial planning may be more pronounced in individuals with ADHD, but that the neurocognitive functioning of youth with noncomorbid and comorbid CD and ADHD are largely similar.

Psychopathic traits and social brain responses during moral evaluation in adolescence.

Brain functioning underlying moral decision-making in adolescents with psychopathic traits is relatively less understood. This fMRI study examined the neural correlates of moral decision-making in relation to psychopathic traits, as measured by the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI), in a sample of 16 community-recruited youth (mean age=13.94) with reported behavior problems. Participants viewed images that depicted a moral violation, a conflict with no moral violation, and a neutral scenario. We analyzed activation, seed-to-voxel, and seed-to-seed functional connectivity using a social brain mask during moral reasoning and decision-making. Results indicated: a) greater activity in social brain regions while assessing acts of moral, compared to nonmoral, violations; b) positive correlations between activation of several social brain regions and YPI subscale scores; c) a positive association between YPI and functional connectivity between the social brain network and the bilateral middle cingulate cortices; d) significant effects of YPI on connectivity between social brain regions and the rest of the brain; and e) decreased connectivity between several ROIs during moral reasoning: the left temporoparietal junction (lTPJ) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), the precuneus (PREC) and left amygdala (lAMYG), and the PREC and rAMYG. Clinical and developmental implications of these findings are discussed.

Biological Evidence Regarding Psychopathy Does Not Affect Mock Jury Sentencing.

Research on the biological factors influencing criminal behavior is increasingly being introduced into court, necessitating research on how such evidence is perceived and influences decision makers. Research on how this evidence influences sentencing recommendations is inconclusive. In this study, we focus on biological evidence related to psychopathy, a construct commonly associated with criminal behavior. Approximately 800 community members were presented with a case vignette detailing an individual who is described as having a high level of psychopathic traits. Participants received either psychological information about psychopathy (i.e., no biological evidence), evidence the defendant had genetic risk factors for psychopathy, or written neuroimaging evidence the defendant had brain deficits associated with psychopathy. Participants then recommended a sentence. Overall, recommended sentence lengths did not differ between evidence conditions. These findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that biological evidence may not have as much of an influence on jurors as previously thought.

Alpha-amylase reactivity in relation to psychopathic traits in adults.

Recent investigations of the psychobiology of stress in antisocial youth have benefited from a multi-system measurement model. The inclusion of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a surrogate marker of autonomic/sympathetic nervous system (ANS) activity, in addition to salivary cortisol, a biomarker of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, has helped define a more complete picture of individual differences and potential dysfunction in the stress response system of these individuals. To the authors' knowledge, no studies have examined sAA in relation to antisocial behavior in adults or in relation to psychopathic traits specifically. In the present study, we examined sAA, in addition to salivary cortisol, in a relatively large sample (n=158) of adult males (M age=36.81, range=22-67 years; 44% African-American, 34% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic) recruited from temporary employment agencies with varying levels of psychopathic traits. Males scoring highest in psychopathy were found to have attenuated sAA reactivity to social stress compared to those scoring lower in psychopathy. No differential relationships with the different factors of psychopathy were observed. In contrast to studies of antisocial youth, there were no interactions between sAA and cortisol levels in relation to psychopathy, but there was a significant interaction between pre-stressor levels of sAA and cortisol. Findings reveal potential regulatory deficits in the fast-acting, 'fight or flight', component of the stress response in adult males with psychopathic traits, as well as abnormalities in how this system may interact with the HPA axis.