New Study Looks Into Psychopaths' Minds

Dec 1, 2011
Paul Campobasso

An MRI image of the human brain - Image: NASA

A report by U.S researchers suggests that a psychopath's brain differs in structure and function, causing their lack of empathy, anxiety and emotion.

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience on the 30th of November suggests that psychopaths' callousness and lack of empathy and emotion are caused by reduced connections between different regions in the brain.

According to Michael Koenigs, study researcher and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, “this is the first study to show both structural and functional differences in the brains of people diagnosed with psychopathy.”

Study Methodology

Researchers recruited male inmates from a maximum-security prison in Wisconsin, USA. Participants eligible for the study were:

younger than 45 years old;
had IQs higher than 70;
had no history of psychosis or bipolar disorder;
and were not currently using psychotropic medications.

To assess inmates' psychopathy, researchers used the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), created by psychologist Robert Hare. The assessment involves 60 to 90 minute interviews and file reviews to obtain information on 20 of the inmates characteristics, which include superficial charm: grandiose self-worth; prone to boredom; impulsiveness; emotional poverty and lack of empathy; parasitic lifestyle; pathological lying and juvenile delinquency amongst other issues. Each characteristic is rated 0, 1 or 2, depending on the degree to which each characteristic defines the individual. A participant was considered psychopathic if their PCL-R score was 30 or greater and non-psychopathic if their score was 20 or lower.

Inmate participants were predominantly Caucasian and had an average age of around 31 or 32 years old. The average I.Q score for psychopaths (97.9 – 99.6) was slightly lower than those identified as not being psychopathic (101.4 to 102.3). Researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on 27 participants and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 40 participants to compare the brains of psychopaths to non-psychopathic inmates.

Results

The DTI images showed reduced structural integrity in the white matter fibres that connect and carry information between different regions of the brain, such as the ventromedial prefontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. The vmPFC is associated with empathy and decision-making, while the amygdala is associated with emotion, memory and fear. According to the researchers, interactions between these two areas of the brain are thought to underlie aspects of emotion regulation, aggression and stimulus reinforced associations.

The fMRI images found an abnormally low level of coordinated activity between the vmPFC and two interconnected “seed regions”: the amygdala and a medial parietal area that includes the prucuneus and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). These areas have been associated with affective processing, social cognition, decision-making, and a reduced level of activity in psychopathy.

The prucuneus/PCC area has particularly been linked to self-reflective processing. Previous studies on psychopathy have proposed that an underlying defect in self-reflection can result in decision-making impairments. However, the researchers found it too premature to speculate on how reduced activity between the vmPFC and the prucuneus/PCC area may affect psychopathy.

The researchers concluded that a reduced connection between the vmPFC and the amygdala is what distinguishes psychopaths from non-psychopaths.

“Those two structures in the brain, which are believed to regulate emotion and social behavior, seem to not be communicating as they should," Koenigs told LiveScience.

Experimental psychologist Robert Hare, who was not involved in the study, said that the report "does a marvelous job of integrating what we know about brain function. What’s striking is that it’s confirming what clinicians have suspected and discussed and talked about. Now we’re getting down to the real nitty-gritty here.”

Another Recent Study: Language Often Used by Psychopaths

Earlier this year, researchers from Cornell University and the University of British Columbia reported in the current online edition of the journal Legal and Criminological Psychology that computer analysis can identify psychopaths' speech patterns. The study compared the stories told by 14 imprisoned psychopathic male murderers with those of 38 convicted murderers who were not diagnosed as psychopathic. Each subject was recorded describing their stories in detail, and then the tapes were transcribed and subjected to computer analysis.

According to Joseph Hancock, a researcher and Cornell professor of communication, the words that a psychopathic criminal tends to use when discussing their crimes reflect their personalities, revealing selfishness, detachment from their actions and emotional flatness.

The study, titled Hungry like the wolf: a word-pattern analysis of the language of psychopaths, found that psychopaths were more likely to use the past tense, suggesting a detachment from their crimes. They also used more conjunctions such as “because”, “since” or “so that” implying that they had no other option but to commit the crime, so as to obtain a particular goal. Psychopaths used twice as many words relating to physical needs, such as food, sex or money, while non-psychopaths used more words that focused on social needs, including family, religion and spirituality. Researchers also speculated that psychopaths' tendency to speak with less fluency and overuse of "ums" and "uhs" in their speech, was possibly due to them needing to use more mental effort to frame their story to make a good impression.

"These findings on speech begin to open the window into the mind of the psychopath, allowing us to infer that the psychopath's world view is fundamentally different from the rest of the human species," the researchers told Cornell University's Chronicle Online.

Characteristics of a Psychopath

Researchers of the new report published on November 30th, describe psychopathy as a neuropsychiatric disorder that is typified by callousness and impulsive antisocial behavior and associated with violent criminal behavior and recidivism, which is when they recommit a crime despite being punished for the same act prior.

Neuroscientist, Dr. Kent Kiehl, a study researcher from the University of New Mexico and a leader in psychopathy research, defines a psychopath as “someone who scores high on traits such as lack of empathy, guilt and remorse. They are very impulsive: they tend not to plan or think before acting. They tend to get themselves in trouble by a very early age."

According to psychiatrist and pioneer into psychopathy studies, Hervey M. Cleckley, a big difference between a psychopath and an ordinary criminal is that a criminal will commit a crime for a purpose that can be understood by most people, such as increasing their wealth, security and power. A psychopath, on the other hand, may commit a crime when there is astonishingly little to gain from the act and any gains they do receive might not be used to increase their status, wealth or security. In some cases, there are no gains at all for the psychopath to commit the crime. Other characteristics Cleckley associates with psychopathy are a disregard for the truth; egocentricity; incapacity to love; unreliability; superficial charm and intelligence; and a relative immunity from anxiety.

In the documentary I, Psychopath, we are introduced to non-violent, self-proclaimed psychopath Sam Vaknin, whose lack of empathy and conscience sees him often verbally attack, abuse, accuse and demean people to breaking point. In the documentary, Dr. Robert Hare mentions that approximately one percent of people are psychopaths, and they're more likely to exist in boardrooms than in prisons.

Subtypes of Psychopathy

Psychologists Theodore Millon and Roger Davis outlined 10 different psychopath subtypes and their characteristics. A brief description of each follows:

“The Unprincipled Psychopath” is narcissistic, guiltless, opportunistic, lacking in loyalty, adept at charming others, and though they often act rashly and are unafraid of punishment they tend to keep their actions within the boundaries of the law. They are deficient in social conscience and operate as if they have no principles other than exploiting others for personal gain. This subtype exists in charlatans and con-men.
“The Disingenuous Psychopath” may appear friendly and sociable, but is often unreliable, impulsive and resentful towards family members and friends. This subtype can also be described as deceitful, insincere, manipulating and calculating, with a strong need for attention and approval.
"The Risk-Taking Psychopath” demonstrates their irresponsibility and undependability by often engaging in foolhardy risk taking for the excitement and thrills it provides, and not for material gain.
“The Covetous Psychopath” believes that the world has not “given them their due”, and they have been deprived of their rightful level of love, material possessions and support. Driven by envy and desire they perform acts of theft and destruction to take back what they believe they deserve. No matter how much they take however, their insecurity drives them to be forever jealous, greedy and ostentatious.
“The Spineless Psychopath” is deeply insecure, lacks confidence and often expresses doubt. They may use violence in order to impress the public and create the facade that they are not weak or cowardly.
“The Explosive Psychopath” often feels frustrated and hopeless and is incredibly sensitive to feelings of betrayal. Interaction with this subtype may result in them displaying uncontrollable rage and fearsome violent attacks.
“The Abrasive Psychopath” is irritable, angry, intentionally antagonistic and believe that they're always unquestionably right, and everyone else is unquestionably wrong. This subtype is characterized by contentious, quarrelsome and fault-finding behavior and enjoys using reasoning, complaints, nagging and criticism to undermine, demean and frustrate opponents, including their most intimate associates.
“The Malevolent Psychopath” is vindictive, hostile, arrogant, fearless, guiltless, sadistic, and displays a hateful and defiant attitude to society, with contempt for the rights of others. They do know the difference between right and wrong but press on anyway if their goal is likely to be achieved. This subtype applies to many murderers and killers.
“The Tyrannical Psychopath” is cruel, fearsome, sadistic and often prefers selecting victims who will submit to violence, intimidation and abuse rather than those who will counter-attack. This subtype enjoys creating suffering more than any other type.
“The Malignant Psychopath” tends to be isolated, paranoid, mistrustful, resentful and envious of others. Their tactics to brutalize and intimidate others have backfired often, and they now seek retribution, though this tends to be more through fantasy then through actual action. They also often tend to suffer from paranoid delusions, believing that others are intentionally persecuting and intimidating them This subtype desires to vindicate themselves from past wrong doing by cunning revenge and callous force. .

Many psychologists also speak about primary and secondary psychopathy, though many experts interpret both these subtypes differently. However, common themes include primary psychopaths being somewhat fearless, lacking in morals and social conscience, showing little anxiety, resistant to socialization and not being deterred by punishment. Commonly described characteristics of the secondary psychopath include high anxiety, impulsiveness, high risk-taking, dissatisfaction with life and guilt-prone.

Sources:

Birkett-Smith M., Davis R.D., Millon T & Simonsen E. Psychopathy: antisocial, criminal and violent behavior. New York, USA; Guildford Press, 1998. Chapter 10.
Cleckley, H. The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality. Georgia, USA; Emily S. Cleckley, Fifth Edition. 1988.
Kiehl, K.A., Koenigs, M., Motzkin, J.C & Newman, J.P., “Reduced Prefrontal Connectivity in Psychopathy”, Journal of Neuroscience. Vol 31. No. 48. 2011.
“Kiehl interviews Dugan about the 1983 crime”, accessed on December 01, 2011, accessible at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128116806
Lykken, D.T, The Antisocial Personalities. NJ, USA; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. 1995.
Parry, Wynne., 'Inside the Brain of Psychopaths', LiveScience, November 22, 2011
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison.,'Psychopaths' Brains Show Differences in Structure and Function', November 22, 2011
Steele, Bill. “The words of psychopaths reveal their predatory nature”, Chronicle Online (Cornell University', October 17, 2011.
Taylor, Matthew., "Psychopaths: Born evil or with a diseased brain", BBC News, November 15, 2011.

Paul Campobasso - I live in Melbourne, Australia and recently graduated from university completing a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Politics and a ...