title: Distinct neuronal patterns of positive and negative moral processing in psychopathy.
abstract: Psychopathy is a disorder characterized by severe and frequent moral violations in multiple domains of life. Numerous studies have shown psychopathy-related limbic brain abnormalities during moral processing; however, these studies only examined negatively valenced moral stimuli. Here, we aimed to replicate prior psychopathy research on negative moral judgments and to extend this work by examining psychopathy-related abnormalities in the processing of controversial moral stimuli and positive moral processing. Incarcerated adult males (N = 245) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol on a mobile imaging system stationed at the prison. Psychopathy was assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Participants were then shown words describing three types of moral stimuli: wrong (e.g., stealing), not wrong (e.g., charity), and controversial (e.g., euthanasia). Participants rated each stimulus as either wrong or not wrong. PCL-R total scores were correlated with not wrong behavioral responses to wrong moral stimuli, and were inversely related to hemodynamic activity in the anterior cingulate cortex in the contrast of wrong > not wrong. In the controversial > noncontroversial comparison, psychopathy was inversely associated with activity in the temporal parietal junction and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that psychopathy-related abnormalities are observed during the processing of complex, negative, and positive moral stimuli.
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Mexico. sjfede@unm.edu.|Mind Research Network, An Affiliate of Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Mexico, 87131. sjfede@unm.edu.
authors.forename: Samantha J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fede
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jana Schaich
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Borg
authors.affiliation: Mind Research Network, An Affiliate of Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Mexico, 87131.
authors.forename: Prashanth K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Nyalakanti
authors.affiliation: Mind Research Network, An Affiliate of Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Mexico, 87131.
authors.forename: Carla L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Harenski
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Lora M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cope
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sinnott-Armstrong
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koenigs
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Mexico.|Mind Research Network, An Affiliate of Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Mexico, 87131.
authors.forename: Vince D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Calhoun
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Mexico. kkiehl@mrn.org.|Mind Research Network, An Affiliate of Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Mexico, 87131. kkiehl@mrn.org.
authors.forename: Kent A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kiehl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D057237:Criminals; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011329:Prisoners; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Decision making; Incarceration; Moral; Prosocial; Psychopathy; fMRI