It’s not much of a stretch to think that a psychopath’s brain is probably a little different than other people’s brains. But scientists have recently uncovered why. A study conducted by a team at Harvard University discovered that a psychopath’s brain has different neurological wiring.
The study was published in the journal Neuron. Researchers explained how they uncovered the neurological wiring that causes psychopaths to be overly impulsive and reckless. While scientists previously assumed that lack of empathy is to blame for a psychopath’s reckless actions, this study suggests otherwise. Researchers now believe that the appeal of the short-term reward is what truly motivates a psychopath’s decisions.
Study author John Buckholtz explained, “Because it’s the choices of psychopaths that cause so much trouble, we’ve been trying to understand what goes on in their brains when they make decisions that involve trade-offs between the costs and benefits of action.”
The Study
To conduct the study, researchers used a mobile brain scanner on 50 prison inmates that had shown psychopathic tendencies. While the inmates were hooked up to the MRI machine, they were given a “delayed gratification” test. They had to decide whether to take less money from a pile sooner, or wait and receive more money later on.
The study showed that the more impulsive, psychopathic individuals required instant gratification. They took the money sooner. The MRI showed that these inmates experienced greater activity in the region of the brain associated with immediate reward.
The MRI also looked at another key region of the brain – one associated with “mental time travel.” This region allows us to think about the possible future consequences of our actions. The researchers found that the wiring between this region, and the region associated with immediate decision-making, was much weaker in the more psychopathic inmates.
The correlation between these two parts of the brain was so strong that researchers discovered they could use the brain scans alone to predict how many times the inmates had been convicted of crimes. This wiring may explain why people with psychopathic tendencies appear ruthless or cold.
The study suggests that psychopathic brains are wired differently, which doesn’t necessarily make them good or evil. An adrenaline junkie, a journalist or even a salesman may have the wiring of a psychopathic brain. “They’re not aliens,” Buckholtz explained. “They’re people who make bad decisions.”