doi.org/10.1007/s00406-025-02028-6
Credibility: 989
#Brain
A new study has revealed that people diagnosed with psychopathy have similarities in brain structure that set them apart from the general population
This finding could be very important for better understanding this personality disorder and how to treat it.
Researchers from the Jülich Research Center and RWTH Aachen University in Germany led the study.
They compared MRI scans of the brains of men diagnosed with psychopathy with those of men without the disorder.
Psychopathy is considered one of the biggest risk factors for serious and persistent violent behavior, according to the researchers.
To understand what is happening in the brains of these people, they used MRI scans and a tool called the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R).
This checklist combines interviews, professional assessments, and official records to create three scores: an overall score, one for emotional and interpersonal traits (factor 1), and one for impulsive and antisocial behaviors (factor 2).
The results showed that for factor 1, the differences in brain structure were small.
However, for factor 2, the researchers found significant reductions in some brain regions in people with high scores.
These regions include the pons (part of the brain stem), the thalamus, the basal ganglia, and the insular cortex.
These areas are linked to the control of automatic actions, the processing of emotions, the interpretation of sensory information, motivation, and decision-making.
In short, they are fundamental to how we react to what is happening around us.
In addition, the study found that the brains of people with psychopathy were, on average, 1.45% smaller than those of people without the disorder.
This is difficult to interpret, but it could indicate problems in the brain development of these people.
The researchers explain that the problematic behaviors associated with factor 2 of the PCL-R, such as impulsivity and antisocial attitudes, are linked to these volume reductions in brain regions that help control behavior.
The study was conducted with a small and not very diverse group, so more research is needed to confirm the results.
It is also important to investigate other possible causes for these brain differences, such as drug use or traumatic experiences, to better understand what is the cause and what is the consequence.
Psychopathy is still a topic of debate, but it is generally characterized by a lack of empathy, manipulative behaviors, impulsivity and a tendency to take risks.
These traits can vary from person to person, but in some cases, they lead to aggressive or violent actions.
With a deeper understanding of psychopathy, the researchers hope to find ways to better address the disorder.
They concluded that the results reinforce the idea that antisocial behaviors are strongly linked to smaller volumes in several regions of the brain, which could open doors for new studies and approaches in the future.
Published in 07/05/2025 11h44
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.
Reference article:
Original study:
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