title: Intervening in the psychopath's brain.
abstract: Psychopathy is a disorder involving personality and behavioral features associated with a high rate of violent aggression and recidivism. This paper explores potential psychopharmacological therapies to modulate dysfunctional neural pathways in psychopaths and reduce the incidence of their harmful behavior, as well as the ethical and legal implications of offering these therapies as an alternative to incarceration. It also considers whether forced psychopharmacological intervention in adults and children with psychopathic traits manifesting in violent behavior can be justified. More generally, the paper addresses the question of how to weigh the psychopath's presumptive right to non-interference in his brain and mind against the public interest in avoiding harm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada, wglannon@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Glannon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003068:Coercion; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D057237:Criminals; D004645:Empathy; D005239:Fear; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D009014:Morals; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects; D010120:Oxytocics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D028701:Patient Rights; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012935:Social Justice; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D010120:Oxytocics; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors