PSYCH 2320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Suicidal Ideation, Impulsivity, Superficial Charm
Document Summary
One subgroup of individuals with aspd, psychopaths are remorseless predators who engage in violence to get what they want. Show less prefrontal activation than normal individuals and to have structural abnormalities in the amygdala, as well as the hippocampus, the brain structure most closely associated with memory. Brain differences are most pronounced in unsuccessful psychopaths individuals who have been arrested for their behaviors. Successful psychopaths individuals who have engaged in antisocial behavior but have not gotten caught are more similar to healthy controls in terms of brain structure and function. Psychopaths show deficiencies in learning about fear and have difficulty processing information related to the distress of others, such as sad or fearful faces. A key challenge in treating individuals with aspd, including psychopaths, is their ability to con even sophisticated mental health professionals. Many never seek therapy, and others end up in prison, where treatment is rarely an option.
