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OldTimeRadio Great Old One Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Total posts: 5539 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio USA Age: 71 Gender: Male |
 Posted: 12-11-2010 04:25 Post subject: |
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On web forums which do not permit BBCode the sparing use of all-capitalized words is necessary for emphasis.
Otherwise prognostications concerning the end of the Universe and the end of the afternoon rain tend to come off with pretty much the same import. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17208 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 08-05-2012 19:11 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Psychopathy linked to specific structural abnormalities in the brain
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-psychopathy-linked-specific-abnormalities-brain.html
May 7th, 2012 in Psychology & Psychiatry
New research provides the strongest evidence to date that psychopathy is linked to specific structural abnormalities in the brain. The study, published in Archives of General Psychiatry and led by researchers at King's College London is the first to confirm that psychopathy is a distinct neuro-developmental sub-group of anti-social personality disorder (ASPD).
Most violent crimes are committed by a small group of persistent male offenders with ASPD. Approximately half of male prisoners in England and Wales will meet diagnostic criteria for ASPD. The majority of such men are not true psychopaths (ASPD-P). They are characterised by emotional instability, impulsivity and high levels of mood and anxiety disorders. They typically use aggression in a reactive way in response to a perceived threat or sense of frustration.
However, about one third of such men will meet additional diagnostic criteria for psychopathy (ASPD+P). They are characterised by a lack of empathy and remorse, and use aggression in a planned way to secure what they want (status, money etc.). Previous research has shown that psychopaths' brains differ structurally from healthy brains, but until now, none have examined these differences within a population of violent offenders with ASPD.
Dr Nigel Blackwood from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's and lead author of the study says: 'Using MRI scans we found that psychopaths had structural brain abnormalities in key areas of their 'social brains' compared to those who just had ASPD. This adds to behavioural and developmental evidence that psychopathy is an important subgroup of ASPD with a different neurobiological basis and different treatment needs.
'There is a clear behavioural difference amongst those diagnosed with ASPD depending on whether or not they also have psychopathy. We describe those without psychopathy as 'hot-headed' and those with psychopathy as 'cold-hearted'. The 'cold-hearted' psychopathic group begin offending earlier, engage in a broader range and greater density of offending behaviours, and respond less well to treatment programmes in adulthood, compared to the 'hot-headed' group. We now know that this behavioural difference corresponds to very specific structural brain abnormalities which underpin psychopathic behaviour, such as profound deficits in empathising with the distress of others.'
The researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 44 violent adult male offenders diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). Crimes committed included murder, rape, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. Of these, 17 met the diagnosis for psychopathy (ASPD+P) and 27 did not (ASPD-P). They also scanned the brains of 22 healthy non-offenders.
The study found that ASPD+P offenders displayed significantly reduced grey matter volumes in the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex and temporal poles compared to ASPD-P offenders and healthy non-offenders. These areas are important in understanding other people's emotions and intentions and are activated when people think about moral behaviour. Damage to these areas is associated with impaired empathising with other people, poor response to fear and distress and a lack of 'self-conscious' emotions such as guilt or embarrassment.
Dr Blackwood explains: 'Identifying and diagnosing this sub-group of violent offenders with brain scans has important implications for treatment. Those without the syndrome of psychopathy, and the associated structural brain damage, will benefit from cognitive and behavioural treatments. Optimal treatment for the group of psychopaths is much less clear at this stage.'
More information: Gregory, S. et al. 'The Antisocial Brain: Psychopathy Matters – a structural MRI investigation of antisocial male offenders', Archives of General Psychiatry (7th May 2012)
Provided by King's College London |
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| Loquaciousness Yeti Joined: 03 Sep 2011 Total posts: 46 Location: The middle bit Gender: Female |
| Posted: 08-05-2012 19:20 Post subject: |
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First person to make use of projective tests was Freud. The idea of interpreting drawings has also been around forever. I personally can't really see how this can be a scientific way of identifying possible psychopath.
The very nature of interpretation means that the analyst is putting their perceptions of it, rather than it being an objective measure. Ask 4 people to do it and you probably get 4 different answers.
Re: the difference in brain structures. A few problems here too, although it is of course a more scientific approach.
1. There will be a distinct overlap between the alleged psychopathic population and the neurotypical population. Just because someone has the abnormality does not make them a psychopath, therefore this test lacks predictive validity.
2. A bit of a chicken and egg situation too. Did their psychopathic behaviour change part of their brain - as it has been shown that brain structures can change in response to environmental influences ( e.g. Maguire (2000 ) ) or did the abnormal brain structure cause them to be psychopathic. |
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| Cochise Great Old One Joined: 17 Jun 2011 Total posts: 859 Location: Gwynedd, Wales Age: 57 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 09-05-2012 14:21 Post subject: |
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Brain structures are neither stable nor uniform, as the remarkable recovery of some people with extensive brain damage has shown. (and the corresponding sad failure of some people to recover when the apparent damage is far less.)
Your brain can use different areas if linkages are broken or even if physical damage to other parts of the body alters its inputs. |
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Spudrick68 Great Old One Joined: 08 Jun 2008 Total posts: 1062 Location: sunny Morecambe Age: 44 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 09-05-2012 21:15 Post subject: |
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| I recall reading of an individual who had just a small amount of membrane coating the inside of their skull, who did not have a below average IQ and who functioned normally. I recall reading that in a book by Anthony Peake, if I recall correctly. |
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| Sergeant_Pluck Great Old One Joined: 10 Apr 2012 Total posts: 504 Location: The Hague, Netherlands. Age: 40 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 23-05-2012 12:20 Post subject: |
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Anyone ever read Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test? I found it illuminating and really quite disturbing about how much power mental health professionals have in defining such. In a nutshell, if for some reason, you found yourself incarcerated in a mental health institution, you'd almost certainly have much more difficulty convincing your doctor you were sane* than if you were a psycho. There was one chap who spent ten years in Broadmoor when (he said) there was nothing wrong with him - he pretended to be a nutter at his (GBH) trial as he figured he'd go to the loony bin for a month and then get released. Finds himself in Broadmoor and finds himself unable to get out. As far as the quacks are concerned, if he co-operates with treatment, he's pretending in order to get out, and if he doesn't, well, he's stuffed anyway. A real catch-22.
*Yes, I recognise the difference between psycopathy and mental illness, delusions etc. I use the word sane for convenience....you know what what I mean. |
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| special_farces Great Old One Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Total posts: 156 Location: Leeds Age: 48 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-05-2012 22:59 Post subject: |
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| I personally go with the Axe Test. If someone is swinging an axe at you and you really haven't done anything to deserve it, chances are they are in some way unbalanced. As my friend found out when her ex decided taking an axe to her front door was a reasonable means of getting to see her. No need for crayons to get a diagnosis there. |
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| BlackRiverFalls I wear a fez now.
Joined: 03 Aug 2003 Total posts: 8716 Location: The Attic of Blinky Lights Age: 44 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 25-05-2012 18:21 Post subject: |
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| aka the "Here's Johnny" test? |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17208 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 19-08-2012 17:13 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Scientific explanation of psychopathy cuts jail time
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22189-scientific-explanation-of-psychopathy-cuts-jail-time.html
19:00 16 August 2012 by Jessica Hamzelou
Serial sex offender Raymond Henry Garland, considered one of Australia's most dangerous sexual predators, was officially diagnosed a psychopath last week. Psychiatrist Joan Lawrence told the Brisbane District Court that Garland had an "almost 100 per cent chance of violent reoffending." Garland has been dealt four indefinite sentences – but research out today suggests that biological evidence of psychopathy could alter the length of such sentences.
Brain scans and genetic tests are becoming a common feature of courtroom battles, as biological evidence is increasingly used to explain a person's criminal behaviour. For example, last year an Italian woman convicted of murdering her sister had her lifetime sentence reduced to 20 years on the basis of brain and genetic tests, which provided biological explanations for her aggressive behaviour.
But does the inclusion of such evidence affect the sentencing of psychopaths – people with a disorder currently thought to be untreatable? Any evidence could act as a double-edged sword, says James Tabery at the University of Utah. A so-called biomechanism to explain psychopathic behaviour could be used to argue that a person is less culpable for their actions, reducing their sentence. On the other hand, the defendant could be seen as more likely to reoffend and receive a longer sentence.
Testing the sword
To find out "which way the sword was going to cut", Tabery, together with psychologist Lisa Aspinwall and law professor Teneille Brown, also at Utah, sent out a survey to 181 US judges based in a number of different states.
Each judge was asked to sentence a convicted criminal diagnosed as a psychopath. The team's fictional character was based on Stephen Mobley, who robbed and then killed a Domino's pizza store manager in 1991. Mobley went on to brag about the crime, and even got the word "Domino" tattooed on his back. Psychologists claimed that his behaviour and lack of remorse was psychopathic and untreatable. At the time, Mobley's request to submit a genetic-based defence for his behaviour was denied, says Tabery. "The Georgia State Supreme Court said [genetic evidence] wouldn't have made any difference," he says. "He was sentenced to death."
In Tabery's fictional case, a man was found guilty of the similar crime of aggravated battery, although the victim was not killed but left with permanent brain damage. The criminal was diagnosed as a psychopath by a psychiatrist. Half of the judges were given additional evidence from a second psychiatrist, who said that the man's behaviour was the result of a genetic mutation that caused a structural abnormality in his brain. Half of each group of judges received the diagnosis as a form of defence, pleading the man's lack of control and culpability over his actions. The other judges saw the diagnosis as part of a prosecution which argued that the man was likely to reoffend.
Shorter sentences
Without a diagnosis, the judges surveyed said they would have given the man a sentence of about nine years. Once he had been diagnosed as an untreatable psychopath, however, the average sentence jumped to 14 years. When judges were presented with biological evidence of the genetic mutation, this sentence was lowered to around 13 years, regardless of whether the evidence was presented by the prosecution or defence.
"We saw both sides of the double-edged sword in play," says Tabery. "The addition of a biological mechanism slightly reduces the sentence compared to just the diagnosis of psychopathy, but it's still significantly higher than what judges said their average sentences are for aggravated battery."
Stephen Morse, professor of law and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, says that the issue of free will in responsibility for one's actions should be "beside the point" in a court room. "Having free will or not having it is not part of any legal doctrine, and needs never be proven or disproven."
But if biological evidence can swing sentences, should all psychopaths be given the option to include brain scans and genetic tests in their defence? Or should the use of such evidence be ruled out entirely? "Different states and different judges vary in how they process this information," says Tabery.
Morse thinks this variation is a real problem in the criminal justice system. "It's usually up to the judge to decide what factors to balance at sentence, how they should be weighed and what evidence to consider, and that results in very varied sentencing," he says. "I think there should be less discretion involved in sentencing, although judges hate the idea."
Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1219569 |
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