Premium
Structural and functional MRI‐ findings in children and adolescents with antisocial behavior
Author(s) -
Vloet Timo D.,
Konrad Kerstin,
Huebner Thomas,
Herpertz Sabine,
HerpertzDahlmann Beate
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.794
Subject(s) - amygdala , psychology , antisocial personality disorder , conduct disorder , developmental psychology , poison control , clinical psychology , injury prevention , medicine , neuroscience , medical emergency
Background . The developmental course of children with conduct disorder (CD) is heterogeneous. Especially children who exhibit symptoms early in their lifetimes are characterized by a negative outcome. Neurobiological aspects of CD have been investigated in these children but little is known about structural and functional brain aberrations. Methods . We describe the developmental taxonomy of children with CD and focus on those with the early onset subtype. Structural MRI data of these children and antisocial adults are recapitulated. The impact of investigating neurobiological underpinnings of antisocial behavior and how this might contribute to future forensic and psychiatric assessments is discussed. Results/ conclusion . Children display similar structural aberrations of fronto‐limbic structures to adults with antisocial behavior, and amygdala dysfunction might be closely related to dysregulated emotions. Though the investigation of biological factors in antisocial subjects has made great progress in recent years, today MRI is still a rather complex, expensive and indistinct method for forensic assessment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.