Biomaterial Database

Emotion and psychopathy: startling new insights. 1994

C J Patrick

Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306-1051, USA.

Abnormal affective response in psychopaths is conceptualized within a broad theory of emotion that emphasizes reciprocal appetitive and defensive motivational systems. The startle response is proposed as a specific measure of the directional component of emotional activation. I review the literature that indicates that criminal psychopaths do not show the expected potentiation of the startle reflex that normally occurs during processing of aversive stimuli such as unpleasant photographs or punishment cues. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that this deviant response pattern is specific to individuals who display the classic affective symptoms of psychopathy. The core emotional deviation in psychopathy could be a deficit in fear response, which is defined as a failure of aversive cues to prime normal defensive actions. This emotional deficit may represent an extreme variant of normal temperament.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010555	Personality Inventory	Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks.	Edwards Personal Preference Schedule,Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,Indicator, Myers-Briggs Type,Inventories, Personality,Inventory, Personality,Myers Briggs Type Indicator,Personality Inventories
D003463	Cues	Signals for an action; that specific portion of a perceptual field or pattern of stimuli to which a subject has learned to respond.	Cue
D004644	Emotions	Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties.	Feelings,Regret,Emotion,Feeling,Regrets
D005239	Fear	The affective response to an actual current external danger which subsides with the elimination of the threatening condition.	Threat Cues,Threat Sensitivity,Cue, Threat,Fears,Sensitivity, Threat,Threat Cue,Threat Sensitivities
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D000342	Affective Symptoms	Mood or emotional responses dissonant with or inappropriate to the behavior and/or stimulus.	Alexithymia,Emotional Disturbances,Affective Symptom,Alexithymias,Disturbance, Emotional,Disturbances, Emotional,Emotional Disturbance,Symptom, Affective,Symptoms, Affective
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000987	Antisocial Personality Disorder	A personality disorder whose essential feature is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. The individual must be at least age 18 and must have a history of some symptoms of CONDUCT DISORDER before age 15. (From DSM-IV, 1994).	Antisocial Behavior,Deviant Behavior,Dyssocial Behavior,Personality Disorder, Antisocial,Psychopathic Personality,Sociopathic Personality,Antisocial Personality,Antisocial Behaviors,Antisocial Personalities,Antisocial Personality Disorders,Behavior, Antisocial,Behavior, Deviant,Behavior, Dyssocial,Behaviors, Antisocial,Behaviors, Deviant,Behaviors, Dyssocial,Deviant Behaviors,Disorder, Antisocial Personality,Disorders, Antisocial Personality,Dyssocial Behaviors,Personalities, Antisocial,Personalities, Psychopathic,Personalities, Sociopathic,Personality Disorders, Antisocial,Personality, Antisocial,Personality, Psychopathic,Personality, Sociopathic,Psychopathic Personalities,Sociopathic Personalities
D013216	Reflex, Startle	A complex involuntary response to an unexpected strong stimulus. The reaction involves physical movement away from the stimulus, MUSCLE CONTRACTION and limb flexion, BLINKING, and changes in HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, and RESPIRATION.	Startle Reaction,Acoustic Startle Reflex,Reflex, Moro,Startle Response,Moro Reflex,Reaction, Startle,Reactions, Startle,Reflex, Acoustic Startle,Response, Startle,Responses, Startle,Startle Reactions,Startle Reflex,Startle Reflex, Acoustic,Startle Responses