NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CORRLELATES OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY, PART 1 - DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS (FROM HUMAN AGGRESSION AND DANGEROUSNESS, 1978, BY D LABERGE-ALTMEJD - SEE NCJ-57484)

• NCJ Number: 57488
• Author(s): L T YEUDALL
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 51 pages
• Corporate Author: Institut Philippe Pinel de Montreal 12
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

THE ROLE OF BRAIN DYSFUNCTION IN HABITUAL CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY IS EXAMINED IN TERMS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES WHICH MANY RESEARCHERS HAVE SUGGESTED FOR USE IN STUDIES OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR.

Abstract

A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY IS AKIN TO A SYNDROME AND, CONSEQUENTLY, POSSIBLY INVOLVES A VARIETY OF ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS. CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY APPEARS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH BRAIN DYSFUNCTION WHICH IS MORE FREQUENTLY LATERALIZED TO THE FRONTAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS OF THE DOMINANT OR LEFT CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE; THIS DYSFUNCTION RESULTS IN THE IMPAIRMENT OR LOSS OF EMOTIONAL OR AFFECTIVE MECHANISMS NORMALLY CONCOMITANT WITH LEARNING. HOWEVER, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PSYCHOPATH OR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF PSYCHOPATHY WOULD DEPEND UPON THE TYPE OF BRAIN DYSFUNCTION, ITS SEVERITY, AND THE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MILIEU OF THE INDIVIDUAL. VARIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES AND A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF HABITUAL CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY, EMPLOYING SUCH MEASURES AS THE WECHSLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE (WAIS) VOCABULARY SUBTEST, THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (MMPI), AND THE EYSENCK PERSONALITY INVENTORY (EPI), FALL SHORT OF BEING COMPLETELY ADEQUATE IN ASSESSING CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY. PERSISTENT CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHS COULD PERHAPS BE MORE APPROPRIATELY EXAMINED USING A MULTIVARIATE STRATEGY WITH MEASURES SENSITIVE TO BOTH LIMBIC AND NEOCORTICAL DYSFUNCTION AND USED TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHY AND ITS POSSIBLE TREATMENT. TWO CASE STUDIES WHICH USED MULTIVARIATE TECHNIQUES TO EXAMINE PSYCHOPATHS (THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST BATTERY, THE WAIS, MMPI, AND EPI, SPECTRAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAMS, AND A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY TEST BATTERY) DEMONSTRATED THE VALUE OF MULTIVARIATE STRATEGY BY IDENTIFYING DIFFERENCES WHICH COULD NOT BE ACCOUNTED FOR USING THE TRADITIONAL PSYCHOMETRIC AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACHES. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. SEE ALSO NCJ-57489. (DAG)