The development of antisocial behavior: What can we learn from functional neuroimaging studies?

Abstract

The recent development of low-risk imaging technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have had a significant impact on the investigation of psychopathologies in children and adolescents. This review considers what we can infer from fMRI work regarding the development of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). We make two central assumptions that are grounded in the empirical literature. First, the diagnoses of CD and ODD identify individuals with heterogeneous pathologies; that is, different developmental pathologies can receive a CDD or ODD diagnosis. This is indicated by the comorbidities associated with CD/ODD, some of which appear to be mutually exclusive at the biological level (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and psychopathic tendencies). Second, two populations of antisocial individuals can be identified: those that show an increased risk for only reactive aggression and those that show an increased risk for both reactive and instrumental aggression. We review the fMRI data indicating that particular comorbidities of CD/ODD (i.e., mood and anxiety conditions such as childhood bipolar disorder and PTSD) are associated with either increased responsiveness of neural regions implicated in the basic response to threat (e.g., the amygdala) or decreased responsiveness in regions of frontal cortex (e.g., ventromedial frontal cortex) that are implicated in the regulation of the basic threat response. We suggest why such pathology would increase the risk for reactive aggression and, in turn, lead to the association with a CD/ODD diagnosis. We also review the literature on psychopathic tendencies, a condition where the individual is at significantly elevated risk for both reactive and instrumental aggression. We show that in individuals with psychopathic tendencies, the functioning of the amygdala in stimulus-reinforcement learning and of the ventromedial frontal cortex in the representation of reinforcement expectancies is impaired. We suggest why such pathology would increase the risk for reactive and instrumental aggression and thus also lead to the association with a CD/ODD diagnosis.

What is a representative brain? Neuroscience meets population science

“…Although population research has established robust effects of poverty and inequality on these outcomes (37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42), neural mechanisms of these effects have not been a primary focus in population approaches. However, within neuroscience and health psychology, research has begun to show that early life experiences such as parenting and SES have effects on brain areas such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (43)(44)(45)(46)(47), areas that have also been linked to a variety of relevant outcomes such as crime and violence (48,49), depression (50), social cognition (51,52), drug use (53,54), and cognitive control (55). For example, a recent study demonstrated that early life stress predicted stress responses in the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis, which in turn predicted connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex and later risk for depression (56).…”

Premotor functional connectivity predicts impulsivity in juvenile offenders

“…Each has received attention from neuroscientists, often focused on structural MRI or functional activation experiments (3,4), although several studies also examine resting functional connectivity (5). Of particular relevance to the present results are theories that emphasize the role of attentional processes in these disorders.…”

Tradução e adaptação semântica para versão em português do Stressful Life Events Schedule (SLES)

“…Para tanto, é necessária a realização de estudos aliando padrões de resposta ao estresse e capacidade de resiliência à exposição a eventos de vida e fatores neurobiológicos, já que a vivência de experiências precoces adversas vem sendo associada com alterações no processamento emocional e no sistema de resposta ao estresse (Crowe & Blair, 2008;De Bellis & Van Dillen, 2005;Pine, 2007). Dessa forma, pesquisas longitudinais de coorte são necessárias para haver maior robustez no poder preditivo da direção de causalidade entre ambiente adverso e psicopatologia.…”

“…Estudos em pesquisa básica e avançada revelam que as experiências precoces adversas podem ter efeitos duradouros sobre o organismo, no sistema de resposta ao estresse, em estruturas cerebrais e no processamento emocional (Crowe & Blair, 2008;De Bellis & Van Dillen, 2005;Pine, 2007). Abre-se uma gama de questionamentos acerca do impacto do ambiente na formação do indivíduo, como e o quanto as experiências precoces podem interferir no seu desenvolvimento.…”