title: Thicker temporal cortex associates with a developmental trajectory for psychopathic traits in adolescents.
abstract: Psychopathy is a clinical condition characterized by a failure in normal social interaction and morality. Recent studies have begun to reveal brain structural abnormalities associated with psychopathic tendencies in children. However, little is known about whether variations in brain morphology are linked to the developmental trajectory of psychopathic traits over time. In this study, structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data from 108 14-year-old adolescents with no history of substance abuse (54 males and 54 females) were examined to detect cortical thickness variations associated with psychopathic traits and individual rates of change in psychopathic traits from ages 9 to 18. We found cortical thickness abnormalities to correlate with psychopathic traits both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Specifically, at age 14, higher psychopathic scores were correlated with thinner cortex in the middle frontal gyrus, particularly in females, and thicker cortex in the superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus, particularly in males. Longitudinally, individual rates of change in psychopathic tendency over time were correlated with thicker cortex in the superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior cingulate gyrus, particularly in males. Findings suggest that abnormal cortical thickness may reflect a delay in brain maturation, resulting in disturbances in frontal and temporal functioning such as impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and emotional dysregulation in adolescents. Thus, findings provide initial evidence supporting that abnormal cortical thickness may serve as a biomarker for the development of psychopathic propensity in adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yaling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Narr
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shantanu H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hafzalla
authors.affiliation: Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Engineering, Pediatrics, and Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology*