Structural and functional MRI- findings in children and adolescents with antisocial behavior.
BACKGROUND
The developmental course of children with conduct disorder (CD) is heterogeneous. Especially children who exhibit symptoms early in their lifetimes are characterized by a negative outcome. Neurobiological aspects of CD have been investigated in these children but little is known about structural and functional brain aberrations.


METHODS
We describe the developmental taxonomy of children with CD and focus on those with the early onset subtype. Structural MRI data of these children and antisocial adults are recapitulated. The impact of investigating neurobiological underpinnings of antisocial behavior and how this might contribute to future forensic and psychiatric assessments is discussed. RESULTS/ CONCLUSION: Children display similar structural aberrations of fronto-limbic structures to adults with antisocial behavior, and amygdala dysfunction might be closely related to dysregulated emotions. Though the investigation of biological factors in antisocial subjects has made great progress in recent years, today MRI is still a rather complex, expensive and indistinct method for forensic assessment.
Vloet
Timo D
TD
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen, University Hospital, Neuenhofer Weg 21, D-52074 Aachen, Germany. tvloet@ukaachen.de
Konrad
Kerstin
K
Huebner
Thomas
T
Herpertz
Sabine
S
Herpertz-Dahlmann
Beate
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors