A recent study conducted by a scientists team from the University of Chicago in the United States revealed the cause of a person to be a psychopath. Cruel and callous behavior of psychopaths apparently triggered by communication disorders in nerves of the brain.
"The interference that occurs in parts of the brain that acts bring a sense of compassion and caring," said a scientists team, such as quoted by Dailymail, on April 26, 2013.
This research was conducted on 80 male prisoners aged 18-50 years who have behavioral traits of psychopathy. The men volunteered for the test and were tested for levels of psychopathy using standard measures. Respondents underwent brain scans to determine their responses to a series of scenarios depicting people being intentionally hurt. They were also tested on their responses to seeing short videos of facial expressions showing pain.
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| A study of 80 prisoners used functional MRI technology to determine their responses to a series of scenarios depicting intentional harm or faces expressing pain. It found that psychopaths showed no activity in areas of the brain linked to empathic concern. (Picture from: http://news.uchicago.edu/) |
Brain scanned results with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) revealed, significant differences in brain activity of psychopaths with normal human brain. Psychopaths showed the lack of activity on the main part of the brain, including the amygdala (a set of nerves that has the shape of almonds and have an important role in the processing of emotions, such as fear, anger, and love.)
"The response is hampered in the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex proved in accordance with the results of previous research on psychopathy," said Jean Decety, the Irving B. Harris Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at UChicago who led the study. Joining Decety in the study were Laurie Skelly, a graduate student at UChicago; and Kent Kiehl, professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico.
In contrast, more activity seen in other brain areas, such as the striatum and insula area. The high activity in the insula area surprised the scientists because this brain's area is recorded as a regional center of emotion. "Lack of empathy is the individual characteristics of psychopathy," Decety said.
Decety said, only this time the neural processes associated with empathic processes in psychopathy individuals directly observed, especially to see the response to the perception of others in pain or suffering.
The findings, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, may explain why a psychopath criminals like 'Hannibal Lecter' character in 'The Silence of The Lambs' movie being very cruel, merciless, and without remorse.
Approximately 20-30 percent of the American prison population was believed to indicate psychopathy. This numbers is very high compared with 1 percent of the general population. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILYMAIL | UCHICAGO NEWS | MAHARDIKA SATRIA HADI | KORAN TEMPO 4214]
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