ABSTRACT

The current chapter examines brain imaging research on psychopathy and arrives at three broad conclusions. First, the orbitofrontal, ventromedial prefrontal, and cingulate cortex are crucial in decision-making, behavioral control, and emotional regulation, and that deficits in these regions may contribute to features such as impulsivity and impaired moral judgment in psychopaths. Second, the medial temporal regions, particularly the amygdala and hippocampus, are critical for emotional processing, and thus when impaired predispose to a shallow affect and lack of empathy in psychopaths. Third, microstructural deficits in the white tract that connects ventral frontal and limbic regions, including the amygdala, may partly contribute to the functional abnormalities in psychopathy. The neurodevelopmental approach is an important research area that can identify brain mechanisms that contribute to psychopathic features and has the potential to inform interventions with this difficult group of offenders.