Violent Psychopaths have Abnormalities in Various Areas of the Brain.

A recent study was done and published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry regarding the various brain differences between violent offenders and non-offenders. The study compared a group of people who were all convicted of a violent act who were also diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. The other portion of the group were violent people who had antisocial personality disorder, but not psychopathy, and the remaining individuals were those with the disorder but not offenders. Similar to the method James Fallon took when looking at the brain scans for some lawyers whose client has murdered several people. Through PET scans they were able to get a functional representation of the brain activity of the murderer and compare it to a "healthy" brain. In the study they used a functional MRI which serves a similar purpose. 

Fallon found that there was a “decrease of activity in the orbital cortex and the area around the amygdala” (Fallon 45). These areas are normally responsible for preventing impulsiveness, so in the case of the murderer’s biology he was unable to control himself. In court this argument allowed for the accused to have his sentence changed from the death penalty to life in prison without parole. Fallon dealt with several more psychopathic killers who’s brain scans show clear abnormalities and were not “just impulsive killers but real methodical psychos” (Fallon 45).

Alexandra Sifferlin explains in her Time article, Violent Psychopaths Don’t Register Punishment, Study Says, that the results from the study with the fMRI showed that there were noticeable differences in the white and grey matter between non-psychopathic criminals and non-offenders. These areas correlate to areas of the brain which encompass our emotions such as guilt and moral reasoning. Also they found abnormalities in the regions connected with empathy which in the case of non-psychopathic criminals showed a lack of.

The purpose of the study and what I believe Fallon is trying to get at is that if we are able to catch these signs of abnormal brain development or characteristics of psychopathy in young children we have a much higher chance of intervening and preventing them to go on to perform violent acts. The goal of the authors who were in charge of the study are to develop a program for parents to place their children in case of them showing early onsets of psychopathic characteristics.

Link to Article: http://time.com/3685596/psychopaths-brain-punishment/

References:

Fallon, J. (2013). The psychopath inside: A neuroscientist’s personal journey into the dark side

            of the brain. New York: Current.

Sifferlin, A. (2015). Violent Psychopaths Don’t Register Punishment, Study Says. Time.