Psychopathy Relation to Genes or Brain Structure

Psychopathy Connection to Genes or Brain Structure
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Psychopathy is a severe personality disorder characterized by various traits including charm, emotional stability if shallow, and unreceptive towards feelings of others (Polaschek and Daly 2013). Other behaviors include mood disorders, anxiety, irritability, and impulsivity social avoidance among others. Investigation Discovery (2008) suggests psychopaths have reduced volume, function, and connectivity in the frontal cortex, a brain part responsible for moral decision making and prosocial behavior. The impairment of prefrontal cortex results in the development of antisocial behavior, influences impulse control, inhibits behavior, executive functioning, planning for the future, punishment and reward processing, and moral decision making.
Evidently, psychopaths lack competency to stand trial for accused crime given their mental incapacity to rational behavior. More specifically, psychopaths have no fear of punishment and, therefore, punishment threats are ineffective in deterring them from offending. Furthermore, their impairment in decision making, recognizing other’s feelings, and shallow emotional stability influences their decision to continue in criminal behavior. While normal persons are able to switch behaviors once a behavior when consequences change from positive to negative, psychopaths’ inability to read cues for negative consequences makes them proceed to do wrong. Therefore, punishing psychopaths is not a correct response since they are unaware of consequences of criminal behavior and this impairment makes them incapable of differentiating right from wrong based on other’s feelings in which they are unable to read.

In conclusion, although psychopaths are responsible for their criminal behavior, they, however, should not be legally responsible since some biological and cognitive factors influence these behaviors. Instead of punishment as a response for offense, more tools and programs to identify early, manage, prevent, and treat the disorder is more appropriate for longer-term improvement and possible reduction of recidivism. Given that punishment is inflicting suffering to compensate wrong done, it may not effective among psychopaths since they do not perceive their behavior as wrong or punishable.
References
Investigation Discovery. (2008). Most Evil: Super Delusional.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8EqVNK95wAPolaschek D. &Daly T. (2013). Aggression and Violent Behavior: Treatment and Psychopathy
in Forensic Settings. Science Direct, 18(5): 592-603. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/science/article/pii/S1359178913000360?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb&ccp=y