title: Altered cerebellar-amygdala connectivity in violent offenders: A resting-state fMRI study.
abstract: It has repeatedly been reported, that there are differences in grey matter volume (GMV) between violent offenders and non-violent controls. However, it remains unclear, if structural brain abnormalities influence resting-state functional connectivity (RS-fc) between brain regions. Therefore, in the present investigation, 31 male high-risk violent prisoners were compared to 30 non-criminal controls with respect to RS-fc between brain areas. Seed regions for resting-state analysis were selected based on GMV differences between the two groups. Overall, inmates had more GMV in the cerebellum than controls and revealed higher RS-fc between the cerebellum and the amygdala. In contrast, controls relative to prisoners showed higher RS-fc between the cerebellum and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In addition, controls showed more GMV in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Inmates relative to controls had higher RS-fc within the DLPFC. Results are discussed with respect to cerebellar contributions to a brain network underlying moral behavior and violence. Enhanced cerebellar-amygdala connectivity in violent offenders might reflect alterations in the processing of moral emotions. Heightened functional connectivity between cerebellar hemispheres and the OFC in controls could be a correlate of enhanced emotion regulation capacities. Higher functional intra-DLPFC connectivity in violent offenders might represent an effort to regulate emotions.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMedGraz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010 Graz, Austria. Electronic address: verena.leutgeb@uni-graz.at.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Leutgeb
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMedGraz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wabnegger
authors.affiliation: Graz-Karlau State Correctional Facility, Herrgottwiesgasse 50, 8200 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leitner
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMedGraz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zussner
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMedGraz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Scharmüller
authors.affiliation: Graz-Karlau State Correctional Facility, Herrgottwiesgasse 50, 8200 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klug
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMedGraz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schienle
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology*; D057237:Criminals; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012146:Rest; D014754:Violence
keywords: Amygdala; Cerebellum; DLPFC; GMV; OFC; RS-fcMRI; Violent offenders