A new study suggests that a hyper-reactive dopamine reward system may be a characteristic of a psychopath. Up until this study, research studied what psychopaths lack (interpersonal skills, etc.), whereas the current study focuses on what psychopaths have excess of (impulsivity and risk-taking).
The participants initially filled out a personality test to measure the amount of psychopath traits they had.
In their first test, the researchers gave amphetamine to the participants and gave the a PET scan. Because psychopathy is often times associated with substance abuse and substance abuse is associated with more dopamine release, the researchers hypothesized that participants who had more psychopathic traits would have greater rates of dopamine release than participants who had less psychopathic traits. The researchers did find support for their hypothesis - when participants with psychopathic traits were given amphetamines, they released four times as much dopamine than did participants who did not have as many psychopathic traits.
In the second part of the study, participants were told they would be given a reward after finishing a simple task. Researchers scanned the brains of the participants while they were completing the task and found that individuals with psychopathic traits would continue to do the task until they finished and received their reward.
The participants initially filled out a personality test to measure the amount of psychopath traits they had.
In their first test, the researchers gave amphetamine to the participants and gave the a PET scan. Because psychopathy is often times associated with substance abuse and substance abuse is associated with more dopamine release, the researchers hypothesized that participants who had more psychopathic traits would have greater rates of dopamine release than participants who had less psychopathic traits. The researchers did find support for their hypothesis - when participants with psychopathic traits were given amphetamines, they released four times as much dopamine than did participants who did not have as many psychopathic traits.
In the second part of the study, participants were told they would be given a reward after finishing a simple task. Researchers scanned the brains of the participants while they were completing the task and found that individuals with psychopathic traits would continue to do the task until they finished and received their reward.
As someone who is very curious in what makes serial killers “tick,” I have read a lot of articles dealing with the endless debate on whether or not serial killers are “made” or “born.” Everything I have read so far has led me to believe that the answer is both. While I believe it is true that people are the result of their circumstances, and that most psychotic and aggressive behavior stems from a traumatic childhood, I believe certain people are born with biological factors that put them at greater risks for the types of behavior we normally associate as the standard for serial killers. Your article only reaffirms this in my head. If all serial killers have had lived through traumatic experiences as a childhood, does this mean that a traumatic childhood is a precursor for psychotic behavior? It is like driving your car down a one way street. All serial killers have traumatic childhoods, but not all people with traumatic childhoods become serial killers. I know plenty of people who have experienced similar traumatic events in their childhood who went on to lead healthy lives in their adulthood. Therefore I deduct that it must be both factors that fuel their behavior. Certain biological factors must put these people at a higher risk for this sort of behavior which can be fueled and exasperated by traumatic childhood experiences.
If we can figure out what exactly is the biological factors that make set someone at a higher risk for the types of aggression and behavior that serial killers exhibit, then we can start catching it at an earlier and earlier age which will help with trying to eliminate the other factors that worsen their condition.
As someone who is very curious in what makes serial killers “tick,” I have read a lot of articles dealing with the endless debate on whether or not serial killers are “made” or “born.” Everything I have read so far has led me to believe that the answer is both. While I believe it is true that people are the result of their circumstances, and that most psychotic and aggressive behavior stems from a traumatic childhood, I believe certain people are born with biological factors that put them at greater risks for the types of behavior we normally associate as the standard for serial killers. Your article only reaffirms this in my head. If all serial killers have had lived through traumatic experiences as a childhood, does this mean that a traumatic childhood is a precursor for psychotic behavior? It is like driving your car down a one way street. All serial killers have traumatic childhoods, but not all people with traumatic childhoods become serial killers. I know plenty of people who have experienced similar traumatic events in their childhood who went on to lead healthy lives in their adulthood. Therefore I deduct that it must be both factors that fuel their behavior. Certain biological factors must put these people at a higher risk for this sort of behavior which can be fueled and exasperated by traumatic childhood experiences.
If we can figure out what exactly is the biological factors that make set someone at a higher risk for the types of aggression and behavior that serial killers exhibit, then we can start catching it at an earlier and earlier age which will help with trying to eliminate the other factors that worsen their condition.
I was also intrigued about this study because I think it's important for people to discover any traits that separate potentially dangerous people from those that are less dangerous. If we could get to the point where doctors could test babies' or children's specific chemical levels in the brain to see if they were at a higher risk for becoming a menace to society, the parents could make sure to eliminate environmental factors that could spark those aggressive tendencies. If not eliminating factors that could increase the chances of dangerous behaviors, but even just being more perceptive to those indicators at a young age would be beneficial for the child, family, and society. The parents would notice the aggression-prone indicators and be able to get help for the child before it became a problem.
I think the studies being done to investigate whether criminal tendencies are biological or environmental are interesting. I think it's possible that criminal tendencies are innate, but need to be sparked by an environmental factor.