Jul 08, 2025 08:00:00

Brain scans reveal common traits in the brains of psychopaths

People with

psychopathy are called psychopaths, and are generally considered to be egocentric, impulsive, lack empathy for others, and prone to antisocial behavior. A study scanning the brains of psychopaths has revealed that they share common characteristics.

Associations of brain structure with psychopathy | European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-025-02028-6

Scans Reveal What The Brains of Psychopaths Have in Common : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/scans-reveal-what-the-brains-of-psychopaths-have-in-common

A research team from the Institute for Research in Jülich and Aachen University in Germany stated in their paper that 'psychopathy is the greatest risk factor for severe and persistent violence,' and conducted research to clarify the neurological basis of this.

The study involved 39 men who had been diagnosed with psychopathy and a control group. The researchers used MRI scans to examine the brain structure of the subjects and also analyzed them using the Psychopathy Checklist-Report ( PCL-R ).

The PCL-R combines expert assessments based on interviews with official records to produce three assessments: an overall score indicating the level of psychopathy, a score based on interpersonal and emotional aspects (Factor 1), and a score based on impulsive and antisocial behavior (Factor 2).

The analysis showed that there were only slight differences in brain structure depending on the score on factor 1, but those with high scores on factor 2 showed significant reductions in volume in certain brain regions, specifically in the

brainstem pons , thalamus , basal ganglia , and insular cortex .

These brain regions are known to be involved in controlling involuntary movements, processing emotions, interpreting sensory information, motivation, and decision-making. 'In other words, these brain functions play a key role in determining how people respond to their environment,' Science Alert said.

They also found that the brains of psychopathic subjects were, on average, about 1.45% smaller than controls, a finding that, while difficult to interpret, suggests there may be developmental problems in people who are classified as psychopaths.

'Our results suggest that behavioral impairments captured by factor 2 of the PCL-R are associated with volumetric deficits in frontal-subcortical circuits that may be involved in the control of behavior,' the team said.

However, this study was relatively small and the diversity of participants was limited, so further research is needed to gather more data.