Somatic markers and response reversal: Is there orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction in boys with psychopathic tendencies?

R. J.R. Blair, E. Colledge, D. G.V. Mitchell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

246 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated the performance of boys with psychopathic tendencies and comparison boys, aged 9 to 17 years, on two tasks believed to be sensitive to amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Fifty-one boys were divided into two groups according to the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD, P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press) and presented with two tasks. The tasks were the gambling task (A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) and the Intradimensional/ Extradimensional (ID/ED) shift task (R. Dias, T. W. Robbins, & A. C. Roberts, 1996). The boys with psychopathic tendencies showed impaired performance on the gambling task. However, there were no group differences on the ID/ED task either for response reversal or extradimensional set shifting. The implications of these results for models of psychopathy are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)499-511
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology
Volume29
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Amygdala
  • Orbitofrontal cortex
  • Psychopathic tendencies
  • Psychopathy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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