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Thinner cortex in the frontal lobes in mentally disordered offenders
Katarina Howner1, Simon Fristed Eskildsen, Håkan Fischer
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. katarina.howner@ki.se
Psychiatry Research
|September 6, 2012
Summary
Psychopathic offenders show thinner temporal lobes and right hemisphere cortex compared to healthy individuals. Autism spectrum disorder offenders did not differ from controls, suggesting temporal lobe thickness is linked to psychopathy.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Psychology
Background:
- Antisocial and violent behaviors are linked to brain abnormalities in frontal and temporal lobes.
- Understanding neurobiological underpinnings of psychopathy and autism spectrum disorder in offenders is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare cortical thickness in psychopathy (PSY) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) offenders versus a reference group (RG).
- To investigate correlations between psychopathy checklist scores (PCL-SV) and cortical thickness.
Main Methods:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and surface-based cortical segmentation were used to measure cortical thickness.
- Region of interest and statistical map analyses were performed.
- Cortical thickness was compared between PSY, ASD, and RG groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in cortical thickness were found between PSY and ASD offender groups.
- The PSY group exhibited thinner cortex in temporal lobes and the right hemisphere compared to the RG.
- No cortical thickness differences were observed between the ASD group and the RG.
- A negative correlation was found between PCL-SV scores and cortical thickness in temporal lobes and the right hemisphere across all subjects.
Conclusions:
- Psychopathic offenders demonstrate reduced cortical thickness in temporal lobes and the right hemisphere.
- These findings highlight the role of temporal lobe structure in the expression of psychopathy.
- The causal relationship between reduced temporal cortex thickness and antisocial behavior remains undetermined.
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