Biological Correlates of Conduct Disorder and Callous-Unemotional Traits

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been proposed to identify a unique subgroup of children with conduct disorder (CD). Little is known, however, about the biological correlates of these traits. In addition, research into the biological correlates of CD has been mixed. This dissertation tested the hypothesis that CU traits moderate the relationship between CD and biological indicators of activity in the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Specifically, CU traits were expected to be associated with decreased arousal at rest and in response to stress, whereas it was predicted that symptoms of CD would be associated with decreased arousal at rest and increased arousal in response to stress. These hypotheses were tested in a community sample of 11-12 year old children (N = 446). Symptoms of CD were assessed using child- and caregiver-report, and both the child and the caregiver reported on levels of CU traits using the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Section 1 focused on electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during an eyes-open rest period. CU traits were associated with a marginally significant increase in theta power in African American participants. In participants of other races, CU traits predicted significantly decreased theta, alpha, and beta power. CD was not significantly associated with EEG in any frequency band. Section 2 examined heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) at rest and in response to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Heart rate was negatively associated with CU traits, but it was not significantly associated with symptoms of CD. CD symptoms and CU traits interacted to predict SCL such that CD was negatively associated with SCL, but only in the context of low levels of CU traits. Section 3 investigated cortisol response to the TSST. Results indicated that CD was positively associated with total cortisol production (as measured by area under the curve with respect to ground [AUCG]), whereas CU traits were negatively associated with AUCG at a trend level. Overall, these results suggest that the biological correlates of CU traits differ from those of CD as a whole, with CU traits being associated with hypoarousal and CD symptoms being associated with a pattern indicating impulsivity. These divergent results for CD and CU may imply that children with CD who are high in CU traits have different treatment needs compared to children with CD who are low in CU traits

Biosocial Interactions and Correlates of Crime

Every level of analysis of biological factors - from molecular genetics, to brain structure and function, to neuropsychological performance - has found links between biology and antisocial behavior. Likewise, a number of social or environmental factors - maltreatment, socioeconomic status, education, and so on - are believed to contribute to crime and aggression. Over the past two decades, increasing interest in the interaction between biological and social factors in various behaviors and disorders has led to several fruitful lines of research. A great deal of such research has supported the interacting roles of nature and nurture in the development of criminality. This chapter will provide an overview of some of the major biosocial findings in research on crime and antisocial behavior

Explaining violence - towards a critical friendship with neuroscience?

The neurosciences challenge the ‘standard social science’ model of human behaviour particularly with reference to violence. Although explanations of violence are interdisciplinary it remains controversial to work across the division between the social and biological sciences. Neuroscience can be subject to familiar sociological critiques of scientism and reductionism but this paper considers whether this view should be reassessed. Concepts of brain plasticity and epigenetics could prompt reconsideration of the dichotomy of the social and natural while raising questions about the intersections of materiality, embodiment and social action. Although violence is intimately bound up with the body, sociologies of both violence and the body remain on the surface and rarely go under the skin or skulls of violent actors. This article argues for a non-reductionist realist explanation of violent behaviour that is also interdisciplinary and offers the potential to generate nuanced understandings of violent processes. It concludes that sociology should engage critically and creatively with the neuroscience of violence

Biological correlates of conduct disorder and callous-unemotional traits

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been proposed to identify a unique subgroup of children with conduct disorder (CD). Little is known, however, about the biological correlates of these traits. In addition, research into the biological correlates of CD has been mixed. This dissertation tested the hypothesis that CU traits moderate the relationship between CD and biological indicators of activity in the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Specifically, CU traits were expected to be associated with decreased arousal at rest and in response to stress, whereas it was predicted that symptoms of CD would be associated with decreased arousal at rest and increased arousal in response to stress. These hypotheses were tested in a community sample of 11–12 year old children (N = 446). Symptoms of CD were assessed using child- and caregiver-report, and both the child and the caregiver reported on levels of CU traits using the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Section 1 focused on electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during an eyes-open rest period. CU traits were associated with a marginally significant increase in theta power in African American participants. In participants of other races, CU traits predicted significantly decreased theta, alpha, and beta power. CD was not significantly associated with EEG in any frequency band. Section 2 examined heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) at rest and in response to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Heart rate was negatively associated with CU traits, but it was not significantly associated with symptoms of CD. CD symptoms and CU traits interacted to predict SCL such that CD was negatively associated with SCL, but only in the context of low levels of CU traits. Section 3 investigated cortisol response to the TSST. Results indicated that CD was positively associated with total cortisol production (as measured by area under the curve with respect to ground [AUC G]), whereas CU traits were negatively associated with AUCG at a trend level. Overall, these results suggest that the biological correlates of CU traits differ from those of CD as a whole, with CU traits being associated with hypoarousal and CD symptoms being associated with a pattern indicating impulsivity. These divergent results for CD and CU may imply that children with CD who are high in CU traits have different treatment needs compared to children with CD who are low in CU traits

Biosocial risk factors for academic dishonesty : testing a new mediation model in young adults

Researchers increasingly recognize that biological risk factors contribute to the development of antisocial behavior. Although academic dishonesty is a pervasive problem, this type of antisocial behavior has not been investigated in biosocial research. This article addresses this limitation by examining the relationship between academic dishonesty and resting heart rate in a sample of undergraduates (N = 149, 65.69% female, M age = 19.62 years). Subjects completed self-report academic dishonesty questionnaires, and heart rate was measured during a resting period. Low resting heart rate was associated with more frequent and varied academic dishonesty in females, but not in males. Self-control and sensation seeking, but not fearlessness, mediated this relationship in females. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine a biological risk factor for academic dishonesty. This is also the first study to examine self-control as a possible mediator of the resting heart rate–antisocial behavior relationship in adults. Findings suggest a potential pathway in young adults through which low resting heart rate may affect antisocial behavior