Psychopaths: Born evil or with a diseased brain.

[RegieRocker]

When Brian Dugan pleaded guilty to the brutal rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl, Jeanine Nicarico, he seemed to be the very sketch of a brutal serial killer.

She had been murdered in 1983, though Dugan only pleaded guilty in 2009. By then, he had also been convicted of rape several times over, and the murder of two others - another seven-year-old girl and a 27-year-old nurse whom he ran off the road before raping and killing her.

If the death sentence had not been withdrawn in Illinois, Dugan would have been executed.

Yet strikingly, he showed no remorse for any of his murders or crimes. Scientists now believe this lack of empathy may in fact be linked to the reason he committed these acts.

Neuroscientist Dr Kent Kiehl of the University of New Mexico scanned Dugan's brain, as part of a unique project to understand how anti-social behaviour is related to brain structure and function.

"He struggles to try and understand why people even care about what he did," says Kiehl, describing his time interviewing Dugan. "Clinically, it is fascinating.
More...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15386740

Another interesting article
http://www.hare.org/links/saturday.html

Finally
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14463452

Why I posted this. The effects of psychopathy on society could not be more profound than it is today. The mob effects are at a heighten state and empathy is being thrown under the bus.

Those that have not succumbed to these effects must stand up against any form of non empathy. The non empathy courses through our everyday lives and even on this board. We can not in any instance disregard how it might effect another human being.

[Ian David]

1. ALSO...

Study: Conservatives Have “Dark And Socially Destructive” Personality Traits
http://www.nationalconfidential.com/20111107/study-conservatives-have-dark-and-socially-destructive-personality-traits/

[hifiguy]

2. The human brain can take a lot of different forms

in terms of its internal wiring. I know - I am dx'd as being on the autism spectrum (Asperger's). I am the way I am because of the way my brain is wired. Asperger's and other spectrum "disorders" are usually pretty benign, at least in terms of how we act. I am reasonably certain that true psychopaths and sociopaths are also born the way they are.

[backscatter712]

3. And this explains the behavior of...

politicians, executives, police officers...

[Jackpine Radical]

4. The problem with the extant measures of psychopathy

(especially the Hare) is that they are largely normed on street-criminal populations and based on the attributes found in that group. The instruments tend to miss the high-functioning psychopaths who inhabit our boardrooms and political offices. The main difference between the street criminals and the suite criminals is that the former tend to be dumb (average IQ of street criminals is about 80-85) and unable to plan ahead and delay impulses for immediate gratification when that immediate gratification would get in the way of a good but slow-moving scam.

I think the lack of empathy generally comes from childrearing practices. Yup. I'm blaming the mothers. There is an area of the brain, sometimes called the "social cortex," that develops in the first 2 years of life, especially the second year. This region, which lies just behind your right eyeball, is more formally known as the right orbitofrontal cortex. When the child doesn't get appropriate interactions with the mother (e.g. mutual babbling & cooing), that area doesn't develop well. A major role of the mother is to help the infant regulate his emotional states until she develops some capacity for self-regulation. For example, the mother increases or decreases the amount of stimulation the infant gets, based on what she perceives the infant's needs to be. Mom is an emotional thermostat, in an informational feedback loop with the child. You can actually see the poverty of dendritic connections in a histological exam of the brain in those who don't get this experience.

As for the impulsivity of street criminals, a very high percentage of them have measurable damage in the frontal, prefrontal and temporal regions.

[RegieRocker]

9. I think this has more to do with inability to have deep long lasting

loving relationships not a lack of empathy.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. What are your grounds for saying that?

I assume, of course, that you're familiar with Bowlby's attachment work as well as the later work of Allan Schore, Dan Siegel & others in this area. Is there some now research in the area of cortical neurodevelopment I've missed?

[quinnox]

5. That is odd

my reply seems like it was deleted and not even a "deleted message" left in its wake. It was nothing but a known fact about certain serial killers and their ability to fake empathy and fool people. Huh, must have disturbed someone I guess.

[RegieRocker]

8. repost it. sounds interesting.

[HereSince1628]

6. Loss of empathy or rise of self-interest?

One of the characteristics used to talk about psychopaths is the inability to care for other living things including pets. What I see isn't an inability to care, it's the limitation of care to self-interest, which could be given negative connotations as in selfishness or greed but need not.

The people clamoring for cutting benefits to the poor, such as Scott Walker actually appear to have emotional ties and concern for their families and possibly to a limited range of others who belong to their in-group. The people arguing that those who don't work shouldn't eat, like Bachmann also seem to still have emotional ties and caring for family and relatives.

It seems to me that it may not be that empathy is gone, but more that it's application is more limited. Of course that's unfortunate and has consequences on government's ability to give high priority to social programs that benefit 'others.'

But, I don't see that as unexpected in a highly partisan society where opposition to others is validated and where the sound of opposition is admired even if its purpose is to cover criminal behavior (re Cain and his lawyers threats). Bravado and an appearance of opposition to 'social norms' has replaced 'gravitas' as a required personality trait (Romney on Iran, Perry on multiple issues).

[RegieRocker]

7. First there are many types of psychopaths

many of which have a flip flop concern for their families. They are still psychopaths. Just because one portrays concern for family and friends at times does not change thei fact they have a lack of empathy for fellow human beings. The mob effect could be also be what you are talking about.

[saras]

10. I vote for free will and conscious choice myself.

For every one who's born that way there's at least a dozen who were systematically raised to it by upper-class parents.

[dtexdem]

11. I dunno -- but what I do know:

if corporations are actually persons, then they are ALL sociopaths.