Psychopathic Criminals can Turn Off Empathy Switch at Will, Says Study

A new study suggests that psychopathic criminals could feel empathy but are able to switch it on and off according to their will.

A new study published in the journal Brain suggests that contrary to popular perception, psychopathic criminals could feel empathy but are able to switch it on and off according to their will.

Researchers led by Christian Keysers from the University of Groningen in Holland asked a group of psychopathic criminals to watch a video in which one person hurting another.

Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

They were then asked to empathize with the individual in pain while the researchers analyzed their brains. When asked to imagine how the pain receiver felt, the researchers found that the area of the brain related to pain showed activity.

“The predominant notion had been that they are callous individuals, unable to feel emotions themselves and therefore unable to feel emotions in others. Our work shows it's not that simple. They don't lack empathy but they have a switch to turn it on and off. By default, it seems to be off. Now that we've shown they have empathy - even if only in certain conditions - we can give therapists something to work with”, Professor Keysers said.

Source-Medindia

Depression - Symptom Evaluation
Depression occurs due to alterations in the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Depression � A Holistic Approach-Signs, Symptoms and Treatment
Depression is a common disorder and many worldwide suffer from depression. Early recognition of symptoms and signs of depression can help in taking a holistic approach to the management of depression.