Electrophysiology of blunted emotional bias in psychopathic personality

Patrick L Carolan; Fern Jaspers-Fayer; Deyar T Asmaro; Kevin S Douglas; Mario Liotti

doi:10.1111/psyp.12145

Electrophysiology of blunted emotional bias in psychopathic personality

Psychophysiology. 2014 Jan;51(1):36-41. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12145. Epub 2013 Sep 9.

Authors

Patrick L Carolan¹, Fern Jaspers-Fayer, Deyar T Asmaro, Kevin S Douglas, Mario Liotti

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory for Affective and Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Law and Forensic Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

PMID: 24016313
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12145

Abstract

Diminished emotional capacity is a core characteristic of psychopathic personality. We examined behavioral and electrophysiological differences in attentional bias to emotional material in 34 healthy individuals rated high or low in psychopathic traits using the short form of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (18 high-trait, 16 low-trait). While performing an emotional Stroop task, high-trait participants displayed reduced emotional modulation of the late positive potential (LPP, 400-600 ms), and early anterior positivity (EAP, 200-300 ms) amplitudes. Results suggest blunted bias to affective content in psychopathic personality, characterized by diminished early capture to emotional salience (EAP) and dampened cognitive emotional processing (LPP).

Keywords: EAP; ERP; Emotion; Emotional bias; LPP; Psychopathic personality.

MeSH terms

Antisocial Personality Disorder / physiopathology*
Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology*
Electroencephalography
Emotions*
Evoked Potentials / physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Stroop Test
Young Adult