Am I a psychopath?

Even though there have been numerous studies and experiments into psychopaths and psychopathology, the true and accurate causes of this disorder is still not scientifically confirmed nor agreed upon. Neither, is there yet enough valid and reproducible data to answer the question unanimously of whether psychopathy is a product of genes or a feature of upbringing, but it is thought that these variables are more likely to be a cause rather than a correlation.

 

One of the best sources of information about whether psychopathic characteristic are a result or nature of nurture comes from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart.

The Minnesota Twin Study is a project originally by Minnesota Professor of Psychology Thomas Joseph Bouchard Jr. The Minnesota twin study has shown that psychopathic traits are 60% inherited. This percentage indicates that psychopathic traits are due more to DNA rather than to upbringing.

 

Recent genetic studies of twins indicate that identical twins may not be as genetically similar as first assumed. Though only a couple of hundred mutations take place during early fetal development, the mutations likely multiply over the years, leading to vast genetic differences. This leaves open the possibility that psychopathic traits are largely genetically determined before birth.

 

If psychopathy is genetically determined, one should expect some abnormality in the brain, the immediate source of psychopathic traits. A study at  the University of Wisconsin has discovered that psychopathic characteristics in criminals was associated with decreased connectivity between the amygdala, a subcortical structure of the brain that processes negative stimuli, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a cortical region in the front of the brain that interprets the response from the amygdala.

This brain abnormality is found in the majority of cases of psychopathic criminals.

However there are of course multiple other factors that can cause brain abnormalities that can lead to psychopathology in an individual.

When the connectivity between these two regions is low, processing of negative stimuli in the amygdala does not translate into any strongly felt negative emotions. This fits well into the picture known of psychopaths. They do not feel nervous or embarrassed when they are caught doing something unacceptable or abnormal. They do not feel sad or empathy when other people suffer. Though they do feel physical pain, they are not themselves in a position to suffer from emotions hurts as if they are emotionally numb.

 

There are, however, some limitations of this study. The study measured criminal psychopaths. But not all psychopaths are criminals. Most psychopaths are manipulative, aggressive and impulsive but these features do not necessarily lead to criminal activity.

It remains unknown weather non-criminal psychopaths have reduced activity between the amygdala and the vmPFC.

Another limitation of the study is that it doesn’t show that reduced activity between the amygdala and vmPFC is an abnormality specifically linked to psychopathy rather than to a range of mental conditions that have been associated with serious crime, including paranoid schizophrenia and extreme sexual fetises.

 

Psychopathic researchers found that psychopaths often have these common traits:

 

 

• Lack of empathy, guilt, conscience or remorse

• Shallow experiences of feelings or emotions

• Impulsivity and a weak ability to defer gratification and control behaviour

• Superficial charm and glibness

• Irresponsibility and a failure to accept responsibility for their actions

• A grandiose sense of their own worth

 

 

 

 

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), released by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013, lists psychopathy under the heading of Antisocial Personality Disorders (ASPD), therefore the traits are similar to that of sociopaths as well and confusion between them is frequent.

Key traits that sociopaths and psychopaths share include:

 

 

A disregard for laws and social mores

A disregard for the rights of others

A failure to feel remorse or guilt

A tendency to display violent behaviour

 

 

Psychopaths are often characterised as unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy towards others, although this is often paired with charming or charismatic personalities. Psychopaths are seen as manipulative and can easily gain people’s trust, they learn to mimic emotions, despite their inability to actually feel them, and will appear normal and calm to unsuspecting individuals.