Psychopathic traits in adolescents are associated with higher structural connectivity.
Altered structural connectivity has been reported in antisocial juveniles, but findings have been inconsistent. Given the phenotypical heterogeneity among individuals showing antisocial behavior, specification of the association between structural connectivity and the dimensions of psychopathic traits (i.e., callous-unemotional, grandiose-manipulative, and impulsive-irresponsible traits) may aid in more reliably elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying antisocial behavior during adolescence. In this study, a sample of 145 adolescents (mean age 17.6, SD 1.6) from a childhood arrestee cohort participated in a neuroimaging protocol including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD), as obtained by tract-based spatial statistics, were associated with juveniles' scores on the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory. Grandiose-manipulative traits were positively associated with FA and negatively with RD in a wide range of white matter tracts, suggesting abnormal myelination related to these traits. Callous-unemotional traits were positively associated with FA and AD in specific white matter tracts, including the corpus callosum and corticospinal tract. The differential associations between dimensions of psychopathic traits and measures of structural connectivity support the notion that multiple distinct neural mechanisms underlie antisocial and psychopathic development.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Duivendrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: louise.pape@nyumc.org.
Louise E
LE
Pape
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Duivendrecht, The Netherlands.
Moran D
MD
Cohn
Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Matthan W A
MW
Caan
Department of Psychiatry - Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Guido
G
van Wingen
Department of Psychiatry - Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Wim
W
van den Brink
Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Dick J
DJ
Veltman
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Duivendrecht, The Netherlands; Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Arne
A
Popma
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016880:Anisotropy; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000378:metabolism*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D055815:Young Adult
Antisocial behavior; Callous-unemotional traits; Child and adolescent psychiatry; DTI; Psychopathic traits; Psychopathy