Psychopaths and Psychopathology

Samana Upadhyaya
Spring Retreat 30.04.2021

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Contents
• Psychopath vs Sociopath
• In the history
• Inside the brain of a Psychopath: Modern understanding
• Recipe to create a psychopath
• Take home message
• References

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Antisocial Personality disorder
Repeated pattern of disregard for or violation of
others' rights. A lack of morality and empathy for
others is present
Psychopath: 1% Sociopath

• Less impulsive, • More impulsive and

calculated actions erratic
• No emotional • Emotional attachment
attachment with close group
• Manipulative/cons • Doesn’t cooperate with
people people
• No guilt/morality • Morality with close group
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(Johnson, S. A. ,2019)
History..

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Violent behaviour=Demonic possessions
• All forms of abnormality in behaviours linked
to demonic possessions

Treatment?
• Exorcism, Witch hunts
• Starvation and blood letting
• Trepanation

Scienceeee!!
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Lobotomy
• Early 1900s psychosurgery- took 5 mins
• Cutting connections between frontal cortex to the other
regions
• To calm unstable, aggressive people, Schizophrenics,
“mentally ill”, violent prisoners
• Made patients immobile, lifeless, expressionless, “living
dolls”- Easier to deal!

(Arts, M., 2017)

Rosemary kennedy António Egas Moniz, 1949 6
In the brain of a serial
killer…

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Modern Understanding

Structural changes:
• Gray matter reductions in neocortical and limbic
areas (Pujol, J., 2019 )
Functional changes:
• Low activity in VmPFC- low morality (Koenigs M., 2012) (Pujol, J., 2019)
Source: psychiatry.uci.edu

• VmPFC-Amygdala- behaviour reinforcement understanding Cognitive

Genetic changes:
• MAOA allele (monoamine oxidase A), "warrior
gene“(Hunter P., 2010) Emotional
understanding
• X-linked allele 8
Recipe to create a psychopath?

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Are genes and brain structures enough?

Dr. James H Fallon:

• Professor of Psychiatry
• Found MAOA risk allele and brain abnormalities similar to
psychopaths
• 7 relatives from 4 generations involved in infamous violent
murders Lizzie Borden
• No murders (so far)

Trigger: Abuse,
Environmental, Epigenetic
factors
(Palumbo, S.,2018) 10
Take home message..

• We are humans : Humanity > Science

• We are responsible for our actions
• We have to treat people with kindness
• Destigmatize mental health problems
• Adapt and promote good mental health practices
and lifestyle
• Sleep and eat well!

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References
• Arts, M., Michielsen, P., Petrykiv, S., & De Jonge, L. (2017). The legacy of Walter Jackson
Freeman II (1896–1972): The lobotomist. European Psychiatry, 41(S1), S767-S767.
• Hunter P. (2010). The psycho gene. EMBO reports, 11(9), 667–669.
https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2010.122
• Johnson, J. (2014). American lobotomy: A rhetorical history. University of Michigan Press.
• Johnson, S. A. (2019). Understanding the violent personality: Antisocial personality disorder,
psychopathy, & sociopathy explored. Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal,
7(2), 76-88.
• Koenigs M. (2012). The role of prefrontal cortex in psychopathy. Reviews in the neurosciences,
23(3), 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1515/revneuro-2012-0036
• Palumbo, S., Mariotti, V., Iofrida, C., & Pellegrini, S. (2018). Genes and aggressive behavior:
epigenetic mechanisms underlying individual susceptibility to aversive environments. Frontiers in
behavioral neuroscience, 12, 117.
• Pujol, J., Harrison, B., Contreras-Rodriguez, O., & Cardoner, N. (2019). The contribution of brain
imaging to the understanding of psychopathy. Psychological Medicine, 49(1), 20-31.
doi:10.1017/S0033291718002507

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Thank you…!

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