Abstract
While neuroimaging research has examined the structural brain correlates of psychopathy predominantly in clinical/forensic male samples from western countries, much less is known about those correlates in non-western community samples. Here, structural magnetic resonance imaging data were analysed using voxel- and surface-based morphometry to investigate the neuroanatomical correlates of psychopathic traits in a mixed-sex sample of 97 well-functioning Japanese adults (45 males, 21-39 years; M=27, SD=5.3). Psychopathic traits were assessed using the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-SF; 4th Edition). Multiple regression analysis showed greater Factor 1 scores were associated with higher gyrification in the lingual gyrus, and gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala/hippocampus border. Total psychopathy and Factor 1 scores interacted with sex to, respectively, predict cortical thickness in the precuneus and gyrification in the superior temporal gyrus. Finally, Factor 1 and Factor 2 traits interacted to predict gyrification in the posterior cingulate cortex. These preliminary data suggest that, while there may be commonalities in the loci of structural brain correlates of psychopathic traits in clinical/forensic and community samples, the nature of that association might be different (i.e., positive) and may vary according to sex and configurations of factors’ level.
Original language | English |
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Article number | bhac397 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Cerebral Cortex |
Early online date | 27 Oct 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 27 Oct 2022 |
Bibliographical note
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.Keywords
- gray matter volume
- psychopathy
- sex differences
- surface-based morphometry
- voxel-based morphometry