The psychopathic brain is different – but it CAN be treated

Humans are among the most altruistic species that we’ve studied, due to our alloparental instincts – a trait we evolved into that allows us to care for offspring who are not our own. Across species, the ones who alloparent the most appear to be the most altruistic. Very altruistic people seem to be the opposite of those who are psychopathic in terms of their neural structure, neural function, and characteristic emotional traits.

Science has been studying psychopathy for decades, but only more recently have we been identifying the basic neurocognitive building blocks of those deficits in psychopathy, says Abigail Marsh, PhD.

Here, Marsh explains how the psychopathic break is different, early warning signs that may indicate a lack of empathy, and how psychopathy can be treated.