A multidimensional examination of psychopathy traits and gray matter volume in adults

Abstract

Uncovering the neurobiological abnormalities that may contribute to the manifestation of psychopathic traits is an important step towards understanding the etiology of this disorder. Although many studies have examined gray matter volume (GMV) in relation to psychopathy, few have examined how dimensions of psychopathic traits interactively relate to GMV, an approach that holds promise for parsing heterogeneity in neurobiological risk factors for this disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the affective-interpersonal (Factor 1) and impulsive-antisocial (Factor 2) dimensions of psychopathy in relation to cortical surface and subcortical GMV in a mixed-gender, high-risk community sample with significant justice-system involvement (N = 156, 50.0% men). Cortex-wide analysis indicated that (i) the Factor 1 traits correlated negatively with GMV in two cortical clusters, one in the right rostral middle frontal region and one in the occipital lobe, and (ii) the interaction of the affective-interpersonal and impulsive-antisocial traits was negatively associated with GMV bilaterally in the parietal lobe, such that individuals high on both trait dimensions evidenced reduced GMV relative to individuals high on only one psychopathy factor. An interactive effect also emerged for bilateral amygdalar and hippocampal GMV, such that Factor 1 psychopathic traits were significantly negatively associated with GMV only at high (but not low) levels of Factor 2 traits. Results extend prior research by demonstrating the neurobiological correlates of psychopathy differ based on the presentation of Factor 1 and 2 traits.

Cortical and subcortical grey matter correlates of psychopathic traits in a Japanese community sample of young adults: sex and configurations of factors’ level matter!

“…(2012) found that inmates with psychopathy had significantly thinner cortex in the left occipital cortex, in comparison with those without psychopathy. More recently, Miglin et al. (2021) found that Factor 1 scores were negatively associated with GMV in a cluster that included the left lingual gyrus.…”

“…For example, higher Factor 1 scores have been related to decreased GMV in the left supplementary motor area and middle inferior frontal gyrus ( De Brito et al. 2021b ), right rostral middle frontal region, pericalcarine region, hippocampus, caudate ( Miglin et al. 2021 ), right inferior temporal gyrus ( Cope et al.…”

“…Finally, to test the hypothesis that the two psychopathy factors may be differentially associated with and interactively related to cortical and subcortical GMV, Miglin et al. (2021) measured GMV and psychopathic traits in a mixed-gender sample ( n = 156) recruited from communities with high rates of crime and found several factor-level interaction effects.…”

Through the looking glass: the neural basis of self-concept in young adults with antisocial trajectories

“…Although different psychopathy dimensions are inter-related, they often result in different outcomes, and may differentially contribute to the etiology and maintenance of antisocial behavior (McCuish et al, 2014;Salihovic et al, 2014;Zalk & Zalk, 2015;Miglin et al, 2021). Hence, we expected that different psychopathic trait dimensions (Callous-unemotional traits, Grandiosemanipulative traits and Impulsive-irresponsible traits) would be differently associated with selfconcept valence.…”

Psychopathic personality traits stress immunity and social potency moderate the relationship between emotional competence and cognitive functions in depression

“…In line with the alterations found in individuals with depression, research on neurobiological correlates of PPT showed impairments in functions tapping into emotional and cognitive domains ( 48 , 49 ). For example, studies found a reduction of gray matter volume in prefrontal and temporal areas, including the orbital frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, as well as amygdala and hippocampus alterations ( 31 , 50 , 51 ). Functionally, a systematic review indicated that PPT are related to a dysfunction of the default mode network, which is involved with moral judgment, metacognitive and introspective abilities ( 52 ).…”