Brain scans prove the reason why your pain is not felt by psychopaths

Among other traits, psychopaths feel a lack of empathy when other people are in pain, and brain scans now reveal why that is. In this study, researchers used functional MRI to observe brain activity in 121 inmates at a medium-security prison in the United States who were divided into three groups based on the levels of their psychopathy: high, moderate or low. The participants were shown pictures of physical pain, such as a finger caught in a door or a toe trapped under a heavy object. They were first asked to imagine that these accidents happened to themselves and then to imagine that they happened to others. Moreover, when imagining other people in pain, highly psychopathic inmates showed increased activity in a brain area known to be involved in pleasure, according to the study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The findings may help lead to new treatment approaches for psychopaths, the researchers said in a journal news release.