title: Psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of right uncinate fasciculus in a community population.
abstract: Individuals with psychopathy possess emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Two neural regions, involved in behavioral control and emotion regulation, are often implicated: amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Recently, in studies using adult criminal populations, reductions in microstructural integrity of the white matter connections (i.e., uncinate fasciculus (UF)) between these two neural regions have been discovered in criminals with psychopathy, supporting the notion of neural dysfunction in the amygdala-VMPFC circuit. Here, a young adult, community sample is used to assess whether psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of UF, and whether this relationship is dependent upon levels of trait anxiety, which is sometimes used to distinguish subtypes of psychopathy. Results reveal a negative association between psychopathic traits and microstructural integrity of UF, supporting previous findings. However, no moderation of the relationship by trait anxiety was discovered. Findings provide further support for the notion of altered amygdala-VMPFC connectivity in association with higher psychopathic traits.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Brain and Creativity Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sobhani
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Brain and Creativity Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bradford
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuvblad
authors.affiliation: Brain and Creativity Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aziz-Zadeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Microstructural integrity; Psychopathy; Uncinate fasciculus