Brain structure reflects empathy and psychopathy in incarcerated males

Abstract

AbstractWhether brain structure could reflect empathy and psychopathy in the same antisocial population is unknown. In White adult males from prison (N = 549, Mage= 34 ± 11 years), we measured empathy with the Perspective Taking (IRI-PT) and Empathic Concern (IRI-EC) subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and psychopathic traits with the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised or Youth Version (PCL-R/YV). A subsample (N = 278, Mage= 36 ± 11 years) underwent MRI, from which we derived cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA). CT did not relate to IRI-PT or IRI-EC, while SA of the left inferior temporal gyrus (L ITG) related negatively to IRI-PT and positively to PCL-R and PCL-R item 8 (Callousness/Lack of Empathy). L-ITG SA predicted scores on IRI-PT – but not IRI-EC – in an out-of-sample test (R2= 0.030). Mapping onto the histological BigBrain gradient, higher scores on IRI-PT – but not IRI-EC – entailed a progressive SA reduction from Bin 1 (sensorimotor) to Bin 5 (limbic). Psychopaths (PCL-R/YV ≥ 30, N = 73/39) had: (1) reduced IRI-PT and IRI-EC scores (Cohen’s Ds = -0.423, – 0.564, respectively); (2) increased L-ITG SA (Cohen’s D = 0.560); (3) increased global SA (Cohen’s D = 0.480); and (4) reduced SA covariance between the left precentral and left isthmus-cingulate cortices. There were no group differences in global, modular, or nodal SA covariance, as indexed by canonical graph-theoretical metrics. We provide novel insights into the brain correlates of empathy and psychopathy in incarcerated males.