Psychopaths lack empathy just like patients with frontal head injury

WASHINGTON - A University of Haifa study has suggested that people diagnosed as psychopathic have difficulty showing empathy, just like patients who have suffered frontal head injury.

“Our findings show that people who have psychopathic symptoms behave as though they are suffering frontal brain damage,” said Simone Shamay-Tsoory, who conducted the study.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that finds expression in extreme anti-social behavior and intentional harm to others, including a lack of compassion and empathy.

Earlier research by Shamay-Tsoory has examined individuals with frontal head injury, i.e., damage to parts of the brain that are responsible for emotional functioning.

She has shown that people suffering this type of brain damage have difficulty showing empathy. Having observed similar emotional deficiency in psychopathic behavior, she set out to see if there is in fact a similarity between the two cases.

The current study assessed 17 people who had been diagnosed by psychiatrists as psychotic and not suffering from any known brain damage; and another 25 individuals suffering frontal lobe injury.

Each of the participants underwent a computerized test examining cognitive ability to recognize feelings in another and the ability to demonstrate empathy for another’s emotions. They were also tested to gage their capacity to understand another’s thoughts.

The results of these tests showed that both groups demonstrated a similar difficulty in showing empathy, while two control groups of individuals with no known mental disorders or brain damage and individuals with non-frontal brain damage both showed different results with positive empathy capabilities.

“Seeing as psychopathic behavior is similar to that of a person with brain damage, it could be that it could benefit from similar forms of treatment,” noted Shamay-Tsoory. (ANI)