Featured Image Credit: Lionsgate Films
Topics: Health, Life, Mental Health, Real Life
Rhianna Benson
For decades now, leading medics and psychologists have been attempting to answer a vital, age-old question: what exactly makes someone a 'psychopath'?
The postulation also comes hand-in-hand with ongoing debates surrounding on whether psychopathic tendencies are a result of nature or nurture - whether they're inherently inside a person's genes, or they're part of learned behaviour.
Broadly the term 'psychopath' is used to describe individuals who suffer an impaired sense of empathy and emotion, and often lean closer towards aggression and impulsivity.
Going back to the debate at hand, however, experts are ceaselessly asking, if psychopathy could be considered a diagnosable disorder, or simply a term given to a collection of controversial behaviours?
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While a number of these questions remaining unanswered despite decades of research in the field, a group of scientists have recently affirmed their belief that certain brains are hardwired to show psychopathic behaviours.
On top of this, the team of researchers in China also released guidance - published in the European Journal of Neuroscience - of what they believe to be common attributes of a 'psychopath', which often appear hidden under the radar.
The study saw the brains of 82 participants - none of whom had never been diagnosed with psychopathy - scanned using advanced technology, before the results were analysed by neurologists.
It was found that individuals with a definitive lean towards aggression, impulsivity, and lack of empathy had a slightly more distinct brain structure, compared with 'normal' participants.
This isn't to say, however, that all individuals with this specific brain structure are destined to become serial killers.
That's because these characteristics remain on a spectrum, with people showing these 'symptoms' at a huge variation of degrees.
The study also saw participants filling out questionnaires consisting of 27 questions, which were aimed at assessing the degree of someone's narcissism, their manipulative tendencies, and traditional psychopathic traits (e.g. lack of empathy, aggression, impulsivity). Emotions and behavioural actions were inspected, as well as participants' views on the notion of rule-breaking and overstepping physical boundaries.
The results of this section of the study were then linked to the findings of the brain scans, with a correlation being ruled between the two when it comes to psychopathy.
But how are these traits most likely to emerge in real life?
Well, the team of neurologists have issued guidance on how to spot this controversial behaviour in more practical circumstances.
As explained by the Mail, researchers in the study picked up on an association between damning questionnaire answers and weakened brain pathways in regions responsible self-control and focus.
As a result, the team say that: 1) Psychopaths have tendency to hyper focus on their self-serving goals, while ignoring the ways in which their behaviours might affect others.
An obscurity in the brains of these individuals in the language region might also explain why: 2) Psychopathy is linked to manipulation, after sees people exhibiting a more strategic or controlling means of communication, rather than a conversation flowing more genuinely.
Particularly strong brain pathways in certain areas could also serve to explain why: 3) Psychopaths might be prone to chasing rewards and gratification, whether or not this have a negative impact on others.
The differences in brain structure in these individuals could also impact 4) A person's decision making - which, again, could explain why psychopaths seem more impulsive.
Explaining the latest findings in China, UK psychiatrist Dr Jaleel Mohammed told the publication: "Psychopaths do not care about other people's feelings.
"In fact if you ever approach a psychopath to tell them about how you're feeling about a situation, a psychopath will make it very clear that they could not care less.
"They literally have a million things that they would rather do than listen to how you feel about a situation."