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Orbitofrontal and striatal alterations in violent individuals: Psychopathy is a moderator
Date Issued
2015
Citation
Lam, Y. H., Yang, Y., Schug, R., Han, C., Liu, J., Lee, T. M. C. (16 Oct 2015). Orbitofrontal and striatal alterations in violent individuals: Psychopathy is a moderator. 6th Society for Social Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
In prior literature, brain structural abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and striatum (caudate and putamen) have been observed in violent individuals.
However, the findings have been inconsistent, and a unimodal neuroimaging perspective has been used. Moreover, whether various levels of psychopathic traits play
a role in such an association is yet to be investigated. Aims and hypotheses: The present study aimed to take a multimodal perspective to examine the differential gray
matter volumes (GMV) and cortical thickness (CTh) in the OFC and striatum between the violent and non-violent individuals 1) with low and high psychopathy; and 2) those
with low and high factor 1 and factor 2 psychopathic traits. It was predicted that the subtypes of psychopathy and antisocial behaviors would be associated with the CTh and
GMV in the left and right OFC as well as with the GMV in both left and right caudate and putamen. Method: Sixty seven adults with or without violence were assessed with
their structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging data, psychopathy and demographic information. Results: The results revealed that the relationship between violence and
the CTh in the right medial OFC (P<0.05) varied across the low and high psychopathy groups (particularly the factor 1 psychopathy). At the subcortical level, the psychopathy
level (particularly the factor 2 psychopathy) moderated the relationship of severe violence with the right putamen GMV (P< 0.05) but not the caudate GMV (P> 0.05). Conclusions:
Overall findings suggested that psychopathic traits attenuated the relationship between violence and the brain structural morphology in the OFC and putamen,
particularly in the right hemisphere. Taken together, the significant role of psychopathy in violence helps us to design and implement prevention measures targeting
violent acts in society.
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