Latest news with #brainstructure
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientists reveal four everyday signs of a psychopath
A team of neurologists in China have discovered that certain brains are hardwired to show psychopathic behaviors, including aggression and rule-breaking. The first-of-its kind study examined how the brain's structure connects psychopathy, a diagnosable psychological disorder, with real-world actions. After analyzing the brain scans of more than 80 people who reported having certain psychopathic traits, though not officially diagnosed as psychopaths, researchers found those with stronger tendencies toward aggression, impulsivity, and lack of empathy, showed distinct structural brain connectivity compared to individuals with milder traits. The traits common in psychopaths were in turn associated with behaviors including substance abuse and violence. The research suggests that the brains of people with these qualities are wired differently, with some pathways supercharged while others are weakened, potentially leading to harmful or disturbing behaviors. Roughly one per cent of Americans are diagnosed psychopaths, equating to about 3.3million people. Not all people who have psychopathic traits are true psychopaths. These characteristics exist on a spectrum on which people show symptoms to varying degrees without being clinically diagnosed or becoming violent. Typically, psychopathy studies show how different brain regions communicate with each other. But the Chinese researchers focused on structural connectivity; the nerve fibers that link different regions, the integrity of fiber bundles, and weaker or thicker white matter pathways. Rather than focusing on how different parts of the brain fail to communicate, structural connectivity examines why they fail. Researchers analyzed 82 people's brain scans who were sourced from the Leipzig Mind-Body Database, a repository of neuroimaging data collected from adults in Leipzig, Germany. They documented each person's psychopathic traits using the Short Dark Triad Test, a questionnaire consisting of 27 questions that capture people's narcissism, manipulative tendencies, and psychopathic traits, such as a lack of empathy. People had to rate themselves on a five-point scale from strongly disagree (one) to strongly agree (five). Higher scores indicated more psychopathic traits. Then, researchers assessed people's behaviors using the Adult Self-Report. The report evaluates a range of emotional and behavioral actions, specifically measuring aggressive, rule-breaking, and intrusive behaviors such as unwanted personal questions or overstepping physical boundaries. A higher score indicated more severe external behaviors. Scientists used each person's MRI data to map out how different brain areas are physically connected. The study was able to identify two key brain connections tied to impulsive and antisocial behaviors in people who possessed psychopathic traits based on their questionnaire answers. The researchers said: 'Psychopathic traits were primarily associated with increased structural connectivity within frontal (five edges) and parietal (two edges) regions.' In the positive network, in which brain connections are strengthened as psychopathic traits increase, stronger connections were clustered in brain regions governing decision-making, emotion, and attention. These included pathways that link emotion and impulse control, which may explain a lack of fear and reduced empathy in psychopaths. It also included the area involved in social behavior, which could lead to a psychopath to understand an emotion but not feel it. In the negative network, in which connections weaken with stronger psychopathic traits, researchers saw weak links in the regions linked to self-control and focus, translating to psychopaths' tendency to hyper focus on their self-serving goals while ignoring how their actions affect others. Researchers also found unusual connections between areas used for language and understanding words. Given that psychopaths are adept at manipulation, this could indicate neural wiring optimized for strategic, controlling communication over genuine communication. The team also discovered a strong connection between brain regions responsible for reward-seeking behavior and areas for decision making, which could explain why psychopaths often chase immediate gratification, even when it harms others. Dr Jaleel Mohammed, a psychiatrist in the UK, said: 'Psychopaths do not care about other people's feelings. In fact if you ever approach a psychopath to tell them about how you're feeling about a situation, a psychopath will make it very clear that they could not care less. 'They literally have a million things that they would rather do than listen to how you feel about a situation.' The findings were published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.
Daily Mail
30-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientists reveal four everyday signs that indicate you are a psychopath
What makes a psychopath? In a quest to determine whether it comes down to nature or nurture, a team of neurologists in China has discovered that certain brains are hardwired to show psychopathic behaviors, including aggression and rule-breaking. The first-of-its kind study examined how the brain's structure connects psychopathy, a diagnosable psychological disorder, with real-world actions. After analyzing the brain scans of more than 80 people who reported having certain psychopathic traits, though not officially diagnosed as psychopaths, researchers found those with stronger tendencies toward aggression, impulsivity, and lack of empathy, showed distinct structural brain connectivity compared to individuals with milder traits. Those traits common in psychopaths were in turn associated with behaviors including substance abuse and violence. The research suggests that the brains of people with these qualities are wired differently, with some pathways supercharged while others are weakened, potentially leading to harmful or disturbing behaviors. Roughly one percent of Americans have been diagnosed psychopaths, equating to about 3.3million people. Not all people who have psychopathic traits are true psychopaths, though. These characteristics exist on a spectrum on which people show symptoms to varying degrees without being clinically diagnosed or becoming violent. Typically, research into psychopathy studies how different brain regions communicate with each other. But the Chinese researchers focused on structural connectivity; the nerve fibers that link different regions, the integrity of fiber bundles, and weaker or thicker white matter pathways. Rather than focusing on how different parts of the brain fail to communicate, structural connectivity examines why they fail. Researchers relied on 82 people's brain scans. The people were sourced from the Leipzig Mind-Body Database, a repository of neuroimaging data collected from adults in Leipzig, Germany. They documented each person's psychopathic traits using the Short Dark Triad Test, a questionnaire consisting of 27 questions that capture people's narcissism, manipulative tendencies, and psychopathic traits, such as a lack of empathy. People had to rate themselves on a five-point scale from strongly disagree (one) to strongly agree (five). Higher scores indicated more psychopathic traits. Then, researchers assessed people's behaviors using the Adult Self-Report. Researchers administered the Dark Triad test, which captures people's narcissism, manipulative tendencies, and psychopathic traits, such as a lack of empathy. People with so-called 'dark triad personality traits' share similar facial features and expressions It evaluates a range of emotional and behavioral actions, specifically measuring aggressive, rule-breaking, and intrusive behaviors such as unwanted personal questions or overstepping physical boundaries. A higher score indicated more severe external behaviors. Scientists used each person's MRI data to map out how different brain areas are physically connected. The study identified two key brain connections tied to impulsive and antisocial behaviors in people who possessed psychopathic traits based on their questionnaire answers. 'Psychopathic traits were primarily associated with increased structural connectivity within frontal (five edges) and parietal (two edges) regions,' the researchers said. In the positive network, in which brain connections are strengthened as psychopathic traits increase, stronger connections were clustered in brain regions governing decision-making, emotion, and attention. These included pathways that link emotion and impulse control, which may explain blunted fear and reduced empathy in psychopaths. It also included the area involved in social behavior, which could cause a psychopath to understand emotion but not feel it. And connection correlated with more impulsive actions. In the negative network, in which connections weaken with stronger psychopathic traits, researchers saw weak links in the regions critical for self-control and focus, translating to psychopaths' tendency to hyper focus on their self-serving goals while ignoring how their actions affect others. Researchers also found unusual connections between areas used for language and understanding words. Given that psychopaths are adept at manipulation, this could indicate neural wiring optimized for strategic, controlling communication rather than genuine communication. The team also found a strong connection between brain regions responsible for reward-seeking behavior and areas for decision making, which could explain why psychopaths often chase immediate gratification, even when it harms others. Dr Jaleel Mohammed, a psychiatrist in the UK, said: 'Psychopaths do not care about other people's feelings. In fact if you ever approach a psychopath to tell them about how you're feeling about a situation, a psychopath will make it very clear that they could not care less. 'They literally have a million things that they would rather do than listen to how you feel about a situation.'
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brain Variations Identified in Children With Restrictive Eating Disorders
Children with a restrictive eating disorder show recognizable changes in brain structure, according to a new study. Identifying the causes of these changes could help researchers understand how these conditions relate to other neurodevelopmental disorders and how they might be better treated. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of 174 children aged under 13 who had been diagnosed with an early-onset restrictive eating disorder (rEO-ED) were analyzed by an international group of researchers, and compared with scans from 116 children without a diagnosis. The motivations behind the study were to look for differences between disorder types, and to see if there were any relationships with brain structures associated with neurological conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Related: "Early-onset restrictive eating disorders encompass a heterogeneous group of conditions, including early-onset anorexia nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorders (ARFID)," write the researchers in their published paper. "However, the impact of rEO-ED on brain morphometry remains largely unknown." The researchers spotted some differences in brain structure for both early-onset anorexia nervosa (including a thinner cortex and more cerebrospinal fluid) and for underweight patients with ARFID (including a reduced surface area and reduced overall brain volume). As this study is limited to a snapshot in time, it's difficult to confirm whether structural brain variations are a cause or a consequence of these disorders. Among the children with early-onset anorexia nervosa, changes to cortical thickness were more closely linked to body mass index (BMI), suggesting the differences in neurology may be a consequence of restrictive eating behaviors. To trace any overlap between restrictive eating disorders and other neurodevelopmental conditions, scans were obtained from a variety of external datasets. The team found similarities in in cortical thickness signatures between early-onset anorexia nervosa and OCD, and between ARFID and autism. Somewhat surprisingly given previous research, there was little overlap between anorexia nervosa and autism, or between ARFID and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "Overall, this multiscale overlap – at the clinical, brain and genetic levels – suggests shared mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders that are independent of BMI," write the researchers. The findings reinforce the significance of treating early-onset anorexia nervosa and ARFID as distinct disorders, while emphasising similarities and differences with other mental health conditions. The findings improve our understanding of how eating behaviors and brain structures are linked, informing development of potential treatments. These disorders are currently tackled in a variety of ways, including both dietary and psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We know the relationship between the brain and our behaviors – including eating habits – is complex and multi-faceted, and the researchers are keen to keep studying how this applies to eating disorders, which could include gathering data on larger samples of people and tracking brain changes over time. The research has been published in Nature Mental Health. Related News Vitamin D During Pregnancy Linked to Cognitive Boost in Children A Study Found Too Much Sleep Increases Risk of Death. Here's Why. Weight Comes Back When You Stop Taking Drugs Like Ozempic, Study Finds Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Chilling discovery exposes tiny differences between psychopaths and ordinary people
Scientists have discovered what really separates a cold-blooded psychopath from the average person. A team from the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered stark differences in brain structure that may explain why psychopaths think, feel, and behave in profoundly disturbing ways. Using MRI scans, researchers compared the brains of 39 adult men with high psychopathy scores to those of a control group, and what they found was unsettling. In psychopaths, researchers found shrunken areas in the basal ganglia, which controls movement and learning, the thalamus, the body's sensory relay station, and the cerebellum, which helps coordinate motor function. But the most striking changes were found in the orbitofrontal cortex and insular regions, areas that govern emotional regulation, impulse control, and social behavior. In other words, the parts of the brain that keep most people from lying, lashing out or harming others were noticeably compromised. 'These are the very traits psychopaths struggle with,' the researchers explained. However, the scan also revealed weaker connections between brain regions tied to empathy, guilt, and moral reasoning, suggesting that the callous behavior of psychopaths may not just be a personality issue, but is deeply rooted in neural wiring. While some traits, like deception and manipulation, are likely shaped by life experience, the physical brain differences point to a biological foundation for why psychopaths act the way they do. And that, scientists say, could help unlock new ways to identify, and possibly treat, individuals at risk of extreme antisocial behavior. The research, published in European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, found noticeable impairments in the amygdala. This powerful region helps control fear, anger, and emotional recognition, the foundation for behaving like a socially functioning human being. When it's not working properly, the result isn't just mood swings, it's a total breakdown in how a person reads others and regulates their behavior. That disconnect can show up in chilling ways: Psychopaths often can't display emotions through facial expressions, making them appear cold, detached, or unnervingly shallow. Impulsive behaviors stem from the neurological abnormalities found in the study, which explained why less than one percent of the global population are psychopaths, but 20 percent of people in prison display psychopathic tendencies. According to the research, most people don't commit violent crimes, but 60 percent lie in casual conversation, 40 to 60 percent ignore traffic speed limits, and 10 percent have used illicit drugs. Past studies have even suggested that psychopaths may have a malfunctioning mirror neuron system, the part of the brain that helps us mimic and learn behavior by observing others. In other words, where most people would instinctively learn empathy by watching someone cry or suffer, a psychopath might feel nothing. Experts often avoid using the label outright, fearing the stigma it carries. Instead, psychologists use a detailed diagnostic tool known as the Psychopathy Checklist to assess traits and assign a score. Many diagnosed psychopaths don't end up in prison or treatment. They blend in. They learn how to mimic normal emotions, mask dangerous impulses, and move through society unnoticed. A study published in March found a disturbing sign that individuals may be psychopaths. Scientists have found a link between psychopathy and 'sadism' – deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others. Examples of sadism include trolling people online, killing video game characters, killing bugs and even sticking pins on voodoo dolls. So if you engage in these sadistic behaviours – even if it's just making other people feel embarrassed online – you could be a psychopath. The experts, from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, warn that sadism might be more common than previously thought. In disturbing experiments, they found members of the public were more than willing to startle people and inflict harm on bugs. 'Sadistic pleasure, gratuitous enjoyment from inflicting pain on others, has devastating interpersonal and societal consequences,' the experts report. '[Our study] is the first to assess state sadism directed at both humans and animals.'
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scans Reveal What The Brains of Psychopaths Have in Common
Psychopaths share similarities in brain structure that differ to the rest of the population, a new study reveals, a discovery which could be crucial in developing our understanding of this personality disorder and how it might be treated. Led by researchers from the Research Center Jülich and RWTH Aachen University in Germany, the study compared brain scans of men diagnosed as psychopaths against brain scans from male volunteers without the condition. "Psychopathy is one of the greatest risk factors for serious and persistent violence," write the researchers in their published paper. "In order to detect its neurobiological substrates, we examined 39 male psychopathic subjects and matched controls using structural magnetic resonance imaging and the Psychopathy Check-List (PCL-R)." Related: The PCL-R combines interview results with professional assessments and official records to produce three scores: an overall score, a factor 1 score that measures interpersonal and emotional traits, and a factor 2 score that measures impulsive and antisocial behavior. While there were only slight differences in brain structure corresponding to factor 1 scores, when it came to factor 2, the researchers found significant reductions in certain brain regions among people who scored highly – including in the pons part of the brainstem, the thalamus, the basal ganglia, and the insular cortex. Research has shown these regions mediate control over involuntary actions, and are linked to emotional processing, interpreting sensory information, motivation, and decision making. In other words, these functions play a critical role in determining how we react to our environment. What's more, the brains of psychopathic subjects were found to be around 1.45 percent smaller than those of control subjects, on average. This is tricky to interpret, but might point to developmental problems in people classed as psychopaths. "The present results suggest that the behavioral disturbances that are captured by the PCL-R factor 2 are associated with volume deficits in regions which belong to frontal-subcortical circuits that could be involved in behavioral control," write the researchers. This is a relatively small-scale study with limited diversity of subjects, so further research will be needed to gather more data. The results imply antisocial and impulsive behaviors in those with psychopathic personalities could be heavily influenced by shared neurological characteristics. Future studies may also consider other possible reasons for these differences in brain structure – which could include drug abuse, for example, or traumatic experiences – to help identify cause and effect more clearly. The debate continues about exactly how to classify psychopathy, which typically manifests itself as a chronic lack of empathy, manipulative behavior, and a tendency to be impulsive and take risks. Although the level of psychopathy can vary from person to person, it can also lead to aggressive and violent actions, as the researchers behind this latest study point out – and with a better understanding of the condition, that might be something we can change. "In conclusion, these findings are compatible with the dimensionality of the PCL-R construct, and suggest a particularly strong association of antisocial behavior to smaller volumes in widespread subcortical-cortical brain regions," write the researchers. The research has been published in the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. First Step Towards an Artificial Human Genome Now Underway Nightmares Could Make You 3 Times More Likely Die Before 75 The Secret to Better Sleep Could Be As Simple As Eating More Fruit And Veggies
