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Most violent crimes are committed by a small group of persistentmale offenders with ASPD. Approximately half of male prisoners inEngland and Wales will meet diagnostic criteria for ASPD. Themajority of such men are not true psychopaths (ASPD-P). They arecharacterised by emotional instability, impulsivity and high levelsof mood and anxiety disorders. They typically use aggression in areactive way in response to a perceived threat or sense offrustration. However, about one third of such men will meet additionaldiagnostic criteria for psychopathy (ASPD+P). They arecharacterised by a lack of empathy and remorse, and use aggressionin a planned way to secure what they want (status, money etc.).Previous research has shown that psychopaths' brains differstructurally from healthy brains, but until now, none have examinedthese differences within a population of violent offenders withASPD. Dr Nigel Blackwood from the IoP at King's and lead author of thestudy says: 'Using MRI scans we found that psychopaths hadstructural brain abnormalities in key areas of their 'socialbrains' compared to those who just had ASPD. This adds tobehavioural and developmental evidence that psychopathy is animportant subgroup of ASPD with a different neurobiological basisand different treatment needs' 'There is a clear behavioural difference amongst those diagnosedwith ASPD depending on whether or not they also have psychopathy.We describe those without psychopathy as 'hot-headed' and thosewith psychopathy as 'cold-hearted'. The 'cold-hearted' psychopathicgroup begin offending earlier, engage in a broader range andgreater density of offending behaviours, and respond less well totreatment programmes in adulthood, compared to the 'hot-headed'group. We now know that this behavioural difference corresponds tovery specific structural brain abnormalities which underpinpsychopathic behaviour, such as profound deficits in empathisingwith the distress of others.' The researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to scan thebrains of 44 violent adult male offenders diagnosed withAnti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). Crimes committed includedmurder, rape, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. Of these,17 met the diagnosis for psychopathy (ASPD+P) and 27 did not(ASPD-P). They also scanned the brains of 22 healthy non-offenders. The study found that ASPD+P offenders displayed significantlyreduced grey matter volumes in the anterior rostral prefrontalcortex and temporal poles compared to ASPD-P offenders and healthynon-offenders. These areas are important in understanding otherpeople's emotions and intentions and are activated when peoplethink about moral behaviour. Damage to these areas is associatedwith impaired empathising with other people, poor response to fearand distress and a lack of 'self-conscious' emotions such as guiltor embarrassment. Dr Blackwood explains: 'Identifying and diagnosing this sub-groupof violent offenders with brain scans has important implicationsfor treatment. Those without the syndrome of psychopathy, and theassociated structural brain damage, will benefit from cognitive andbehavioural treatments. Optimal treatment for the group ofpsychopaths is much less clear at this stage.' The research was funded by research grants from the Department ofHealth, the Ministry of Justice, the Psychiatry Research Trust andthe NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the South London andMaudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry,King's College London. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Mobile Document Scanner , China Handheld USB Microscope for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Handy Portable Scanner.
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