Tully John, Sethi Arjun, Griem Julia, Paloyelis Yannis, Craig Michael C, Williams Steven C R, Murphy Declan, Blair Robert James, Blackwood Nigel
Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK.
Academic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham, UK.
Nat Ment Health. 2023;1(6):420-427. doi: 10.1038/s44220-023-00067-3. Epub 2023 May 25.
Adults with antisocial personality disorder with (ASPD + P) and without (ASPD - P) psychopathy commit the majority of violent crimes. Empathic processing abnormalities are particularly prominent in psychopathy, but effective pharmacological interventions have yet to be identified. Oxytocin modulates neural responses to fearful expressions in healthy populations. The current study investigates its effects in violent antisocial men. In a placebo-controlled, randomized crossover design, 34 violent offenders (19 ASPD + P; 15 ASPD - P) and 24 healthy non-offenders received 40 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo and then completed an fMRI morphed faces task examining the implicit processing of fearful facial expressions. Increasing intensity of fearful facial expressions failed to appropriately modulate activity in the bilateral mid-cingulate cortex in violent offenders with ASPD + P, compared with those with ASPD - P. Oxytocin abolished these group differences. This represents evidence of neurochemical modulation of the empathic processing of others' distress in psychopathy.
患有（ASPD + P）和未患有（ASPD - P）精神病态的反社会人格障碍成年人实施了大部分暴力犯罪。共情加工异常在精神病态中尤为突出，但尚未确定有效的药物干预措施。催产素可调节健康人群对恐惧表情的神经反应。本研究调查了其对暴力反社会男性的影响。在一项安慰剂对照、随机交叉设计中，34名暴力罪犯（19名ASPD + P；15名ASPD - P）和24名健康非罪犯接受了40国际单位的鼻内催产素或安慰剂，然后完成了一项功能磁共振成像变形面孔任务，该任务检查了对恐惧面部表情的内隐加工。与患有ASPD - P的暴力罪犯相比，患有ASPD + P的暴力罪犯中，恐惧面部表情强度的增加未能适当地调节双侧扣带前回皮质的活动。催产素消除了这些组间差异。这代表了精神病态中对他人痛苦共情加工的神经化学调节的证据。
