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The neural correlates of moral decision-making in psychopathy

Molecular Psychiatry volume 14, pages 5–6 (2009)Cite this article

Neuroimaging studies have used classic moral dilemmas to identify the neural circuitry underlying moral decision-making in healthy individuals, but it is unknown how this circuit functions in immoral, psychopathic individuals. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we find that more psychopathic individuals show reduced activity in the amygdala during emotional moral decision-making, with particularly conning and manipulative individuals showing reduced activity in the entire moral neural circuit. These results provide initial evidence that psychopaths exhibit deficits in brain regions essential for moral judgment in normal individuals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    A L Glenn

  2. Department of Criminology, Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    A Raine

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    R A Schug

Authors
  1. A L Glenn
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  2. A Raine
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  3. R A Schug
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Correspondence to A L Glenn.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Molecular Psychiatry website (http://www.nature.com/mp)

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Glenn, A., Raine, A. & Schug, R. The neural correlates of moral decision-making in psychopathy. Mol Psychiatry 14, 5–6 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2008.104

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