The Empathic Brain of Psychopaths: From Social Science to Neuroscience in Empathy

Abstract

Empathy is a crucial human ability, because of its importance to prosocial behavior, and for moral development. A deficit in empathic abilities, especially affective empathy, is thought to play an important role in psychopathic personality. Empathic abilities have traditionally been studied within the social and behavioral sciences using behavioral methods, but recent work in neuroscience has begun to elucidate the neural underpinnings of empathic processing in relation to psychopathy. In this review, current knowledge in the social neuroscience of empathy is discussed and a comprehensive view of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie empathy in psychopathic personality is provided. Furthermore, it will be argued that using classification based on overt behavior, we risk failing to identify important mechanisms involved in the psychopathology of psychopathy. In the last decade, there is a growing attention in combining knowledge from (neuro)biological research areas with psychology and psychiatry, to form a new basis for categorizing individuals. Recently, a converging framework has been put forward that applies such approach to antisocial individuals, including psychopathy. In this bio-cognitive approach, it is suggested to use information from different levels, to form latent categories on which individuals are grouped, that may better reflect underlying (neurobiological) dysfunctions. Subsequently, these newly defined latent categories may be more effective in guiding interventions and treatment. In conclusion, in my view, the future understanding of the social brain of psychopaths lies in studying the complex networks in the brain in combination with the use of other levels of information (e.g., genetics and cognition). Based on that, profiles of individuals can be formed that can be used to guide neurophysiological informed personalized treatment interventions that ultimately reduce violent transgressions in individuals with psychopathic traits.

Antisocial Personality Problems in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Family Functioning, Impulsivity, and Empathy

“…Indeed, our findings could be informative for the planning of more targeted and effective intervention treatments, supporting the recent evidence that parental involvement in prevention and treatment programs is a critical factor in ensuring success in people of this stage [ 14 ]. Moreover, this study has also suggested that the planning of interventions focused on the improvement of self-control and affective empathy should be promoted [ 94 , 95 ].…”

Refining the link between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and empathy: a meta-analytical approach across different conceptual frameworks

“…Empathic dysfunctions have been associated with diverse maladaptive manifestations of personality such as psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, violence, aggression, and criminality (Blair, 2005;Jolliffe & Farrington, 2004;Miller & Eisenberg, 1988;Reniers et al, 2011;van Dongen, 2020;van Langen et al, 2014). Previous metaanalyses reported small to moderate empathy deficits in violent, juvenile, and sexual offenders (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2004;Morrow, 2020;van Langen et al, 2014) as well as an association between antisocial outcomes and empathy in individuals with a history of physical abuse in childhood and externalizing features (Miller & Eisenberg, 1988).…”

tDCS targeting the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex reduces reactive aggression and modulates electrophysiological responses: A HD-tDCS/EEG randomized controlled trial in a forensic population.

“…Impairments in functioning of the vmPFC is problematic as this brain region is associated with empathic processing and emotional expression [28,29], moral judgment, impulsivity, and linked to aggression and violent behavior [15,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Empathic abilities are vital for social enhancement, social interactions and relationships, for our emotional and social life and moral judgment [37,38] and a deficit in empathic abilities could thus lead to a higher risk of violence [5]. Studies using functional neuroimaging (i.e.…”