Inter-hemispheric interaction of complex positive and negative emotional stimuli in psychopathy

Abstract

From a neurobiological perspective psychopathy can be associated with altered and unbalanced interhemispheric dynamics. The main objective of this study is to determine whether emotional processing, such as decision making of complex emotional meanings, is more successfully accomplished with both hemispheres or separately with the left hemisphere (LH) or left hemisphere (RH) in psychopathic participants. Non-psychopathic participants were recruited from the Admission Unit of the hospital ( n = 19) and psychopathic participants were recruited from the Forensic Unit of the hospital in Gornja Toponica ( n = 22). The different positive or negative social situations with emotional meaning (96 photographs) were chosen from the IAPS, as well as a set of primary facial expressions of emotions of happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust and fear. Psychopathy is not associated with an unbalanced interhemispheric dynamics in decision making in emotional processing. Complex negative emotions are more successfully processed with both hemispheres and complex positive emotions processed with equal success with both or just one hemisphere. When we exclude the emotional valence factor we get the result that suggests an advantage of interhemispheric cooperation in processing. Globally, in complex emotional tasks interhemispheric cooperation is inviolable, despite the undeniable hemisphere specialization for different functions.