A recent study finds that decreased brain activity in regions for evaluation and decision-making is responsible for the lack of empathy among psychopaths.
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One of the common traits of psychopaths is that they are very charismatic and assertive with excellent communication skills and are capable of manipulating people and situations. These superficial skills are often mistaken to be leadership qualities. This takes them to top positions in corporate world before their self-centered, dominant and unremorseful character is revealed.
Various researchers trying to understand the brain of psychopaths have reported that a psychopath's brain differs structurally and functionally from normal human brain.
In this recent study, a team of researchers recorded the brain activities of study participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to violent visual stimuli. The stimuli included videos of people being harmed intentionally and photos of people in pain.
The study involved 80 male prisoners aged between 18 and 50 years. Some of the participants were diagnosed as psychopaths, while the others were controls.
Researchers noticed an increased activity of the insula region of the brain, which reveals that the person is aware of the scenario depicted and perceives that the other person is in pain. However, the decreased activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of their brains hinder their ability to process the emotions and empathize with people in pain. This in turn affects their ability to evaluate the consequences and make decisions.
The authors note that further research into the neurophysiology of the psychopathic brains may help psychiatrists in designing an appropriate treatment program to make the psychopaths realize the implications of their negative actions.
Reference:
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/04/24/psychopaths-are-not-neurally-equipped-have-concern-others
Source-Medindia