Cortical Structure in Relation to Empathy and Psychopathy in 800 Incarcerated Men
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Reduced empathy is a hallmark of individuals with high psychopathy, who are overrepresented among incarcerated men. However, a comprehensive mapping of cortical structure in relation to empathy and psychopathy is lacking. Methods: In 804 incarcerated adult men, we administered the Perspective Taking (IRI-PT) and Empathic Concern (IRI-EC) subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Interpersonal/Affective [F1] and Lifestyle/Antisocial [F2] factors), and T1-weighted MRI to quantify cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA). We also included the male sample from the Human Connectome Project (HCP; N = 501) to probe the replicability of structural-covariance gradients. Results: PCL-R F1 was uniquely negatively related to IRI-EC, while PCL-R F2 was uniquely negatively related to IRI-PT. Cortical structure was not related to either IRI subscale, although there was effect-size differentiation by cytoarchitectonic class and/or functional network. CT was related to PCL-R F1 (mostly positively), SA was related to both PCL-R factors (only positively), and both cortical indices demonstrated out-of-sample predictive utility for PCL-R F1. The high-psychopathy group (N = 178) scored uniquely lower on IRI-EC while having increased SA (but not CT); across the cortex, effect sizes were largest in the paralimbic class and somatomotor network, and meta-analytic task-based activations corroborated affective/sensory importance. Finally, the total sample revealed anterior-posterior gradients of covariance, which were replicated in the HCP sample. In the high-psychopathy group, the gradient of CT (but not SA) was globally compressed. Conclusions: Most notably, high-psychopathy men had reduced empathic concern, increased SA, and compressed macroscale organization of CT.
Authors: Marcin A. Radecki, J. Michael Maurer, Keith A. Harenski, David D. Stephenson, Erika Sampaolo, Giada Lettieri, Giacomo Handjaras, Emiliano Ricciardi, Samantha N. Rodriguez, Craig S. Neumann, Carla L. Harenski, Sara Palumbo, Silvia Pellegrini, Jean Decety, Pietro Pietrini, Kent A. Kiehl, Luca Cecchetti
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,700
Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, National Institutes of Health, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: Socioemotional Processing and Aggression, Externalizing outcomes in high risk youth, G1849798966, G2130345128, G21310129, G2493601830, ERP and fMRI of emotion and cognition in psychopathy, Neurocognitive Changes Associated with Behavioral Treatment in Cocaine Abusers, Mapping the Human Connectome: Structure, Function, and Heritability, Socio-moral processing in psychopathy and substance abuse, NEUROCOGNITIVE ASSESSMENT OF 'CALLOUS' CONDUCT DISORDERED YOUTH, G5707016441, Action Monitoring, Action Observation and Dopamine Genes as Predictors of Substan, A longitudinal study of traumatic brain injury in a high-risk population
OpenAlex ID: W7125526837