PSYCHOPATHY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NEUROSCIENCE WITH REFERENCE TO LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Psychopathy is a personality trait characterized by emotional instability and deviant behavior. Interpersonal and affective characteristics such as lack of empathy, shame or remorse, as well as behavioral characteristics such as impulsivity, poor control, and antisocial behavior and promiscuity, define psychopathy as a negative impact on the individual and thus on society. Scientists have been researching and collecting evidence and arguments that support the neurobiological basis for psychopathy for years. In recent years, research has begun to reveal changes in the brain that could be the basis for psychopathy, that the neuroanatomy of the brain itself plays one of the important roles in the development of psychopathic personality. In this paper, we will further focus on anatomical changes in the frontal cortex and limbic system as starting points for the etiopathogenesis of psychopathy. From the synthesis of available studies and research, in this review we identify the anatomical and functional characteristics of the brain that characterize psychopathy and examine how such brain abnormalities can explain psychopathic behavior, but also consider the legal aspects and consequences of psychopathy and how it is treated in criminal proceedings through the perspective of American legislation.