A meta-analytic review of the relation between antisocial behavior and neuropsychological measures of executive function

Dissociable relations between amygdala subregional networks and psychopathy trait dimensions in conduct‐disordered juvenile offenders

“…However, given the bidirectional flow of information between the BLA and frontoparietal structures [Barbas et al, 2003; Ghashghaei and Barbas, 2002; Sah et al, 2003; Selemon and Goldmanrakic, 1988], our finding may also reflect exaggerated bottom‐up signaling of motivational salience, potentially at the expense of negative emotional information. This fits well with the neurocognitive profile of behavioral psychopathic traits, which includes excessive deployment of cognitive resources towards positive and motivationally salient information [Dolan and Anderson, 2002; Morgan and Lilienfeld, 2000; Racer et al, 2011; Sadeh and Verona, 2008; Sellbom and Verona, 2007], and is consistent with the role of BLA in processing motivational salience [Dwyer and Killcross, 2006; Tye and Janak, 2007]. Overall, our finding thus seems to suggest that individuals with behavioral psychopathic traits may somewhat lack the biological potential to override maladaptive response inclinations, which speculatively could hinder socially appropriate and personally beneficial actions.…”

“…One may for instance speculate that the hyperconnectivity we document could reflect top‐down overregulation of BLA neurons by the frontoparietal control system, which might ostensibly deprive this system of negative affective salience (i.e., threat/punishment cues) and thus hinder optimum control of actions. Excessive frontoparietal control of BLA neurons and diminished BLA responding have been tentatively theorized in relation to impulsive and antisocial psychopathic traits [Blair, 2010; Blair, 2013b; Blair and Mitchell, 2009; Glenn et al, 2009; Larson et al, 2013; Moul et al, 2012], and subsumed to underpin the executive dysfunction and behavioral disinhibition that lie at the heart of these traits [Dolan and Anderson, 2002; Morgan and Lilienfeld, 2000; Racer et al, 2011; Sadeh and Verona, 2008; Sellbom and Verona, 2007; Zeier et al, 2012]. However, given the bidirectional flow of information between the BLA and frontoparietal structures [Barbas et al, 2003; Ghashghaei and Barbas, 2002; Sah et al, 2003; Selemon and Goldmanrakic, 1988], our finding may also reflect exaggerated bottom‐up signaling of motivational salience, potentially at the expense of negative emotional information.…”

A cognitive neuroscience perspective on psychopathy: Evidence for paralimbic system dysfunction

“…For example, Christian et al (1997) found a correlation of IQ to the impulsive/antisocial characteristics of children with psychopathic tendencies, but not to the affective and interpersonal characteristics. A recent meta-analysis suggests that deficits in executive functions can be detected in groups defined by high levels of antisocial behavior (Morgan and Lilienfeld, 2000). This review found that performance on the Porteus Maze test, a test of the integration of cognitive and motor control, was particularly related to antisocial behavior.…”

Neurocognitive elements of antisocial behavior: Relevance of an orbitofrontal cortex account

“…The neuropsychology of antisocial disorders has been the object of several reviews since Moffitt (1993) developed her theoretical work in the context of critical reviews of the neuropsychology of delinquency (Moffitt, 1990b) and of conduct disorder (Moffitt, 1993; see also Pennington & Bennetto, 1993). A number of other significant reviews were published around that time and in the years that followed (Giancola, 1995;Kandel & Freed, 1989;Morgan & Lilienfeld, 2000;Teichner & Golden, 2000). Moffitt (1990b) initially identified deficits in three specific areas: language abilities, executive function, and cerebral dominance.…”