Inhibitory deficits in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in psychopathic offenders

Abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in male psychopathic offenders

“…Finally, abnormalities in frontal interhemispheric connectivity in psychopathic offenders may relate to the decrease in cortical inhibition that we recently observed in the DLPFC in psychopathic offenders. 59 However, as opposed to inhibitory effects, facilitatory effects could also explain our data. At present, our data do not provide concrete evidence favouring inhibitory or facilitatory effects.…”

“…[52][53][54][55] As disruption of DA and the mesolimbic reward pathway has been observed in individuals with psychopathic traits, [56][57][58] one could speculate that, to a certain extent, cortical dysfunction in psychopathic offenders could be a corollary of aberrant subcortical dopaminergic activity impacting negatively on interhemispheric connectivity. Also, we recently showed decreased cortical inhibition in the left DLPFC 59 in psychopathic offenders. Whether, similar to the right motor cortex, cortical inhibition in the right DLPFC is overly inhibited remains unclear, but these findings could suggest that psychopathic offenders show a unique neurophysiological profile in which the left frontal cortex shows signs of decreased inhibition, while the right hemisphere appears overly inhibited.…”

The Psychopath Next Door: How Similar Are They to Those Behind Bars? Criminality, Executive Functioning, and Emotion Processing in 'Noncriminal' Psychopathy

“…However, the study possessed a number of methodological weaknesses (e.g., differences in substance abuse between the psychopathic and non-psychopathic groups, as well as the scale used to measure psychopathy), and subsequent studies failed to replicate these findings (Hare, 1984;Sutker & Allain, 1987;Sutker, Moan, & Allain, 1983). For example, Hare (1984) (Bagshaw et al, 2014;Heritage & Benning, 2013;Hoppenbrouwers et al, 2013;Kiehl, Smith, Hare, & Liddle, 2000;Kim & Jung, 2014;Mahmut et al, 2008;Sellbom & Verona, 2007). For example, Hoppenbrouwers et al (2013) examined dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and working memory functioning in male psychopathic offenders.…”

“…For example, Hare (1984) (Bagshaw et al, 2014;Heritage & Benning, 2013;Hoppenbrouwers et al, 2013;Kiehl, Smith, Hare, & Liddle, 2000;Kim & Jung, 2014;Mahmut et al, 2008;Sellbom & Verona, 2007). For example, Hoppenbrouwers et al (2013) examined dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and working memory functioning in male psychopathic offenders. They found that compared to controls, psychopathic offenders displayed poorer performance on the letter-number sequencing test, a measure of working memory, that was accompanied by inhibition deficits in the DLPFC.…”

“…These contrasting findings are difficult to interpret and could be affected by a number of other factors. For example, Hoppenbrouwers et al (2013) noted that whilst no participants reported drug use in the past six months, 87% of the psychopathic participants had a history of drug use and substance use disorder. Therefore, it is plausible that their findings may be attributable, at least in part, to neuropsychological changes caused by substance abuse, rather than psychopathy.…”