title: The posteromedial region of the default mode network shows attenuated task-induced deactivation in psychopathic prisoners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychopathy is a personality disorder with symptoms that include lack of empathy or remorse, antisocial behavior, and excessive self-focus. Previous neuroimaging studies have linked psychopathy to dysfunction in the default mode network (DMN), a brain network that deactivates during externally focused tasks and is more engaged during self-referential processing. Specifically, the DMN has been found to remain relatively active in individuals with psychopathic tendencies during externally focused tasks, suggesting a failure to properly deactivate. However, the exact extent and nature of task-induced DMN dysfunction is poorly understood, including (a) the degree to which specific DMN subregions are affected in criminal psychopaths, and (b) how activity in these subregions relates to affective/interpersonal and antisocial/lifestyle traits of psychopathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a group independent component analysis to assess DMN activation during a Go/NoGo task in a group of 22 high-psychopathy and 22 low-psychopathy prisoners. The identified group-level DMN was parcellated into 6 subregions, and group differences in task-induced activity were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In general, DMN subregions failed to deactivate beneath baseline in the high-psychopathy group. A group comparison with the low-psychopathy group localized this attenuated task-induced deactivation to the posteromedial cortical (mPC) region of the DMN. Moreover, multiple regression analyses revealed that activity in the mPC was associated with affective/interpersonal traits of psychopathy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that attenuated deactivation of the mPC subregion of the DMN is intrinsic to psychopathy, and is a pattern that may be more associated with affective psychopathic traits, including lack of concern for others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California at San Diego.
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California.
authors.forename: David V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Clewett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Craig M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: The Mind Research Network.
authors.forename: Kent A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kiehl
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gazzaniga
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*