Fournier Lauren F, McDonald Julia B, Clayson Peter E, Verona Edelyn
Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2021 Jun;58(6):e13815. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13815. Epub 2021 Mar 25.
Difficulty stopping unwanted or inappropriate actions (i.e., inhibitory control) is implicated in antisocial behaviors, which are common in people high in psychopathic traits. Recent research indicates that, for those with antisocial personality, inhibitory control is impaired under negative emotional contexts; however, it is unclear whether this impairment extends to persons with psychopathic traits and to impairments under positive emotional contexts. Identifying some of these distinctions can point to therapeutics that target negative emotion specifically or emotion dysregulation broadly. We sought to identify unique relationships between distinct facets of psychopathy and inhibitory control in the context of positive, negative, and neutral stimuli. Using a community sample (N = 117), event-related potentials were recorded during an emotional-linguistic Go/No-Go task. Results indicated distinct cognition-emotion relationships for each psychopathy facet. Higher interpersonal facet scores related to reciprocal interference between cognition and emotion. Higher callous affect facet scores related to reduced inhibitory and emotional processing, except when stimuli were most engaging (emotional No-Go trials). Higher erratic lifestyle facet scores related to increased effort required to process both emotion and inhibition cues. Finally, higher antisocial facet scores related to poorer behavioral inhibition overall. This research challenges the theoretical accounts of psychopathy focused on specific deficits in negative emotion, such as fearlessness, while offering some support for theories related to attentional dysfunction. Results also highlight the importance of facet-level theorizing, as results varied by facet. This study may inform efforts to reduce disinhibited behaviors, particularly in emotional contexts, among those high in certain psychopathic traits.
难以停止不想要或不适当的行为（即抑制控制）与反社会行为有关，反社会行为在具有精神病态特征的人群中很常见。最近的研究表明，对于患有反社会人格的人来说，在负面情绪背景下抑制控制会受损；然而，尚不清楚这种损害是否扩展到具有精神病态特征的人以及在正面情绪背景下的损害情况。明确其中一些差异可以指向专门针对负面情绪或广泛针对情绪失调的治疗方法。我们试图确定在正面、负面和中性刺激背景下，精神病态的不同方面与抑制控制之间的独特关系。使用一个社区样本（N = 117），在一项情绪语言的“是/否”任务中记录事件相关电位。结果表明每个精神病态方面都有独特的认知 - 情绪关系。人际方面得分较高与认知和情绪之间的相互干扰有关。冷酷情感方面得分较高与抑制和情绪处理减少有关，但在刺激最引人入胜时（情绪“否”试验）除外。不稳定生活方式方面得分较高与处理情绪和抑制线索所需的努力增加有关。最后，反社会方面得分较高与总体行为抑制较差有关。这项研究挑战了专注于负面情绪特定缺陷（如无畏）的精神病态理论解释，同时为与注意力功能障碍相关的理论提供了一些支持。结果还突出了方面层面理论化的重要性，因为结果因方面而异。这项研究可能为减少某些具有精神病态特征的人，特别是在情绪背景下的去抑制行为的努力提供信息。
