Thursday, May 10, 2012

the antisocial brain

kingscollege | New research provides the strongest evidence to date that psychopathy is linked to specific structural abnormalities in the brain. The study, led by researchers at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) is the first to confirm that psychopathy is a distinct neuro-developmental sub-group of anti-social personality disorder (ASPD).

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London and published in Archives of General Psychiatry.

Most violent crimes are committed by a small group of persistent male offenders with ASPD. Approximately half of male prisoners in England and Wales will meet diagnostic criteria for ASPD. The majority of such men are not true psychopaths (ASPD-P). They are characterised by emotional instability, impulsivity and high levels of mood and anxiety disorders. They typically use aggression in a reactive way in response to a perceived threat or sense of frustration.

However, about one third of such men will meet additional diagnostic criteria for psychopathy (ASPD+P). They are characterised by a lack of empathy and remorse, and use aggression in a planned way to secure what they want (status, money etc.). Previous research has shown that psychopaths’ brains differ structurally from healthy brains, but until now, none have examined these differences within a population of violent offenders with ASPD.

Dr Nigel Blackwood from the IoP at King’s and lead author of the study says: ‘Using MRI scans we found that psychopaths had structural brain abnormalities in key areas of their ‘social brains’ compared to those who just had ASPD. This adds to behavioural and developmental evidence that psychopathy is an important subgroup of ASPD with a different neurobiological basis and different treatment needs’

‘There is a clear behavioural difference amongst those diagnosed with ASPD depending on whether or not they also have psychopathy. We describe those without psychopathy as ‘hot-headed’ and those with psychopathy as ‘cold-hearted’. The ‘cold-hearted’ psychopathic group begin offending earlier, engage in a broader range and greater density of offending behaviours, and respond less well to treatment programmes in adulthood, compared to the ‘hot-headed’ group. We now know that this behavioural difference corresponds to very specific structural brain abnormalities which underpin psychopathic behaviour, such as profound deficits in empathising with the distress of others.’

9 comments:

Big Don said...

Nothing really new here.  IQ-160's had a solid handle on it back in 1932. The tendency to bad behavior is genetic -- inherited.
Excerpt image below is from---> 
http://library.lifedynamics.com/Birth%20Control%20Review/1933-04%20April.pdf 

Dale Asberry said...

Have you ever realized that IQ-100s like yourself appear to be even more mentally retarded to us as IQ75s do to you? The real tragedy is that IQ0 - IQ75s only take up 10% of the population while 25 pts either side of IQ 100 take up 80% of the population -- you infest this planet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Na9-jV_OJI 

Big Don said...

They had the right idea back in 1932 (if you read the link provided) until Hitler gave eugenics a bad name by deleting the wrong group.  The mean IQ of your referenced "infestation" could have been elevated substantially, with much more productivity and far less useless-eating dependency.....

Again, BD is just the messenger.  Today's informative reading is here---->  http://dailykenn.blogspot.com/2012/05/springfield-ma-another-black-city-goes.html

CNu said...

Bad behavior is correlated with structural abnormalities, I must have completely missed the part where they explained that these abnormalities have a discernable genetic cause. Could you please refer back to the original study and call out the part where the peer reviewed researchers stipulate a plainly genetic basis for the observed and correlated brain structure? Thanks.

CNu said...

lol, BD is always merely a passive and impartial delivery boy for the Imperial Grand Wizard of the Knights of Nordica.

Dale Asberry said...

Let me try again, as you are clearly cognitively deficient. The point of my comment was biting sarcasm with the intent to indicate that you, Donnie, are a retard, and, those of us that are capable of cognition have to listen to your insufferable braying. I have no need for you (or anyone else) to 'go away', only for you to sit quietly and learn from your superiors. Of course, if you want to go into your room and play with yourself, that's fine too.

Big Don said...

Where do you think the *structure* in structural abnormality comes from?  Probably mom not eating enough broccoli or other DV-approved  food while gestating...??  ROTFLMAO....

It's not politically correct to associate criminality with genes, you can lose your grants and positions.  They give you credit for being able to figure out that much...

CNu said...

Really? There's not enough money in the "scientific" racism camp to support peer-reviewed, truth-seeking research?

Why is that? Are you suggesting some kind of conspiracy to prevent the facts from coming to light, or, could it be that under the volume of current and still emerging understanding, that your Mendelian notion has become rather too quaint and simplistic?

Tom said...

Plus I thought anybody who doesn't have enough resources, it's because they're loozers.  How do we square that with the complaint that The Man has apparently got it in for Racial Realists?  They gotta bootstrap, man, let's see that can-do attitude.

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