Psychopathy and Corticostriatal Connectivity: The Link to Criminal Behavior in Methamphetamine Dependence.

William F Hoffman,Merel B Jacobs,Alex W Hickok,Holly D Mccready,Milky Kohno,Sheehan B Smith,Laura E Dennis

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00090

Abstract

Methamphetamine use and psychopathy are associated with criminal behavior; however, it is unclear how methamphetamine use and psychopathy interact to promote violent, economic and drug offenses. Abnormalities in corticostriatal functional connectivity are exhibited in both psychopathic and methamphetamine dependent individuals, which may contribute to criminal behavior through maladaptive and impulsive decision-making processes. This study shows that psychopathic traits contribute to weaker corticostriatal connectivity in methamphetamine dependence and contributes to an increase in criminal behavior. As the propensity to engage in criminal activity is dependent on a number of factors, a hierarchical regression identifies the contribution of the impulsive antisocial domain of psychopathy, anxiety, years of methamphetamine use and corticostriatal connectivity on different types of criminal offenses. Methamphetamine use and psychopathic traits reduce treatment responsiveness and increase the likelihood of recidivism, and it is therefore important to understand the factors underlying the propensity to engage in criminal behavior.

Highlights

Substance use is especially prevalent among individuals with co-occurring psychiatric conditions, including psychopathic personality traits
PPI- Total PPI-1 PPI-2 Machiavellian Egocentricity Rebellious Non-conformity Blame Externalization Carefree Non-planning Social Influence Fearlessness Stress Immunity Cold Heartedness Total Convictions Acquisitive offenses Drug offenses Violent offenses Months Incarcerated Anxiety Score (GAD-7) Age of MA first use Years of MA use Average use/day aData shown are means ± Standard Deviations. bData analyzed with Chi-squared test (X2)
The results with Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised (PPI-R) total scores are consistent with other studies that report heightened levels of psychopathy in drug-dependent groups [1, 28], and here we extend the literature to show that MA use disorder is associated with significantly higher levels of psychopathy total scores and in the impulsive antisocial dimension of psychopathy (PPI-2)

Summary

Introduction

Substance use is especially prevalent among individuals with co-occurring psychiatric conditions, including psychopathic personality traits. Psychopathy only affects approximately 1% of the population, antisocial diagnoses are greater in individuals with substance-use disorders, and are associated with early onset of drug use [1] and with development of polysubstance dependence [2, 3]. Psychopathy and addiction share common behavioral phenotypes, including poor behavioral control, impulsivity, novelty seeking and risk-taking [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], which may contribute to an increase in criminal activities in both populations [10, 12]. MA users exhibit heightened categorical and dimensional aspects of antisocial and psychopathic traits, including interpersonal violence, hostility, and aggression [13, 14]. There have been no studies, investigating the complex interaction of psychopathy in MA use disorder and its effect on criminal behavior

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