title: Functional Neuroimaging in Psychopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychopathy is associated with cognitive and affective deficits causing disruptive, harmful and selfish behaviour. These have considerable societal costs due to recurrent crime and property damage. A better understanding of the neurobiological bases of psychopathy could improve therapeutic interventions, reducing the related social costs. To analyse the major functional neural correlates of psychopathy, we reviewed functional neuroimaging studies conducted on persons with this condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched the PubMed database for papers dealing with functional neuroimaging and psychopathy, with a specific focus on how neural functional changes may correlate with task performances and human behaviour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Psychopathy-related behavioural disorders consistently correlated with dysfunctions in brain areas of the orbitofrontal-limbic (emotional processing and somatic reaction to emotions; behavioural planning and responsibility taking), anterior cingulate-orbitofrontal (correct assignment of emotional valence to social stimuli; violent/aggressive behaviour and challenging attitude) and prefrontal-temporal-limbic (emotional stimuli processing/response) networks. Dysfunctional areas more consistently included the inferior frontal, orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, ventromedial prefrontal, temporal (mainly the superior temporal sulcus) and cingulated cortices, the insula, amygdala, ventral striatum and other basal ganglia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emotional processing and learning, and several social and affective decision-making functions are impaired in psychopathy, which correlates with specific changes in neural functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), School of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, and Unit of Psychiatry, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Casale
authors.forename: Georgios D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Kotzalidis
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rapinesi
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Pietro
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Alessi
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Cesare
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Criscuolo
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Rossi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tatarelli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Girardi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferracuti
mesh_terms: D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans