A study published by scientists from the Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission Education and Research Institute magazine Brain Imaging and Behavior found that reduced white matter connectivity was associated with psychopathy in incarcerated women.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by antisociality, disregard for social norms, impulsivity sometimes combined with aggression, and an extremely limited ability to form attachments.
Studies involving both genders have found many differences between male and female psychopaths. Including that men show higher levels of deviance and more frequent antisocial behavior in association with psychopathy.
Scientists have suggested that the edentulous fascicle (it’s a bidirectional pathway between the temporal and frontal lobes; traditionally thought to be part of the limbic system) may play a role in psychopathy. It is involved in the regulation of emotional responses and the ability to understand and interpret the emotional states of others, both of which are impaired in people with psychopathy.
Previous studies have shown ray attenuation in men with higher levels of psychopathy. The authors used 254 adult women in prison in their new study. Psychopathy level and brain MRI were evaluated in all participants.
The results showed that lifestyle and behavioral psychopathic features were associated with decreased white matter connectivity in both the left and right fascicles.