Differences in brain may explain why people turn psychopaths

LONDON - Biological differences in the brain may explain why some people turn into psychopaths, says a new study.

The research, conducted by Declan Murphy, along with Michael Craig and Marco Catani, at King’s College, examined the brain biology of psychopaths with convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape etc.

Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) researchers highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of behaviour and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy.

“If replicated by larger studies, the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system,” said Craig.

While psychopathy is strongly associated with serious criminal behaviour such as rape and murder and repeated offences, the biological basis of psychopathy remains poorly understood.

Also some investigators stress mainly social reasons to explain anti-social behaviours. To date, nobody has investigated the ‘connectivity’ between the specific brain regions implicated in psychopathy.

These results were published in Molecular Psychiatry.