Individuals who engage in corrupt and immoral behavior are in some ways similar to psychopaths. Normal people refrain from engaging in such behaviors because they tie together the moral value of society and the risk for punishment when they violate social rules. What is it, then, that allows these immoral individuals to behave in this manner, and in some situations to even prosper? When there is a dysfunction of somatic markers, specific disadvantageous impairments in decision-making arise, for example in moral judgment, but paradoxically, under some circumstances, the damage can cause the patient to make optimal financial investment decisions. Interestingly, individuals with psychopathy, a personality disorder, share many of these same behavioral characteristics as those seen in VMPFC and amygdala lesion patients, suggesting that defective somatic markers may serve as a neural framework for explaining immoral and corrupt behaviors. While these sociopathic behaviors of sometimes famous and powerful individuals have long been discussed primarily within the realm of social science and psychology, here we offer a neurocognitive perspective on possible neural roots for immoral and corrupt behaviors.

Background Specialized training for elite US military units is associated with high attrition due to intense psychological and physical demands. The need to graduate more service members without degrading performance standards necessitates the identification of factors to predict success or failure in targeted training interventions. Objective The aim of this study was to continuously quantify the mental and physical status of trainees of an elite military unit to identify novel predictors of success in training. Methods A total of 3 consecutive classes of a specialized training course were provided with an Apple iPhone, Watch, and specially designed mobile app. Baseline personality assessments and continuous daily measures of mental status, physical pain, heart rate, activity, sleep, hydration, and nutrition were collected from the app and Watch data. Results A total of 115 trainees enrolled and completed the study (100% male; age: mean 22 years, SD 4 years) and 64 (55.7%) successfully graduated. Most training withdrawals (27/115, 23.5%) occurred by day 7 (mean 5.5 days, SD 3.4 days; range 1-22 days). Extraversion, positive affect personality traits, and daily psychological profiles were associated with course completion; key psychological factors could predict withdrawals 1-2 days in advance (P=.009). Conclusions Gathering accurate and continuous mental and physical status data during elite military training is possible with early predictors of withdrawal providing an opportunity for intervention.

Individuals with psychopathy possess emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Two neural regions, involved in behavioral control and emotion regulation, are often implicated: amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Recently, in studies using adult criminal populations, reductions in microstructural integrity of the white matter connections (i.e., uncinate fasciculus (UF)) between these two neural regions have been discovered in criminals with psychopathy, supporting the notion of neural dysfunction in the amygdala–VMPFC circuit. Here, a young adult, community sample is used to assess whether psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of UF, and whether this relationship is dependent upon levels of trait anxiety, which is sometimes used to distinguish subtypes of psychopathy. Results reveal a negative association between psychopathic traits and microstructural integrity of UF, supporting previous findings. However, no moderation of the relationship by trait anxiety was discovered. Findings provide further support for the notion of altered amygdala–VMPFC connectivity in association with higher psychopathic traits.

GML modulates masticatory muscle activity. The response to GML depends on the frequency of clenching and the type of music.