Psychopathic traits influence amygdala-anterior cingulate cortex connectivity during facial emotion processing.
Michael P Ewbank1, Luca Passamonti2, Cindy C Hagan3,4
1Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|April 17, 2018
Summary
Youths with Conduct Disorder (CD) show reduced amygdala activity when processing emotional faces. Psychopathic traits, however, impact amygdala-ventral anterior cingulate cortex connectivity, suggesting distinct neural mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits in youth are linked to impaired facial emotion recognition.
- Neural mechanisms behind these deficits, particularly effective connectivity, remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of Conduct Disorder (CD) and psychopathic traits on amygdala activity and effective connectivity during facial emotion processing in male youths.
- To examine group differences in amygdala responses and functional interactions between limbic regions.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analyses were employed.
- 46 male youths with CD and 25 typically-developing controls (aged 16-21) processed emotional faces.
Main Results:
- Youths with CD exhibited reduced amygdala activity to angry/sad faces compared to neutral faces, with no significant group differences in amygdala effective connectivity.
- Psychopathic traits showed a negative correlation with amygdala-ventral anterior cingulate cortex connectivity for angry vs. neutral faces.
Conclusions:
- Conduct Disorder and psychopathic traits have differential effects on amygdala activation and functional connectivity in youths during facial emotion processing.
- Findings highlight distinct neural underpinnings for antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits in adolescent facial emotion processing.
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