NCJ Number
229444
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 54 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2010 Pages: 6-21
Date Published
February 2010
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The significance of experience (e.g., the intensity/severity, chronicity/duration, and developmental timing of experiences) and how the accompanying changes in the activity of the hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenocortical system affect alterations in the amygdala are discussed as critical contributors to the etiology of psychopathy.
Abstract
Early childhood maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, emotional abuse) and caregiver disruptions are hypothesized to be instrumental in altering the neurobiology of the brain, particularly the amygdala, and contributing to the development of the affective deficits examined in individuals with psychopathy. Exposure to early untoward life events in models of rodent and nonhuman primates changes the neurobiology of the stress response. It is hypothesized that these changes may permanently shape brain regions that mediate stress and emotion and therefore play a role in the etiology of affective disorders in humans. A model is proposed in which early maltreatment experiences contribute to alterations to the amygdala and produce a blunted or dissociative response to stress, a key factor in the affective deficits observed in psychopaths. (Published Abstract)