Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40439717›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2026

Associations of brain structure with psychopathy.

Peter Pieperhoff, Lena Hofhansel, Frank Schneider, Jürgen Müller, Katrin Amunts, Sabrina Weber-Papen, Carmen Weidler, Benjamin Clemens, Adrian Raine, Ute Habel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Peter PieperhoffInstitute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany. p.pieperhoff@fz-juelich.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6166-8926
Lena HofhanselDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Frank SchneiderDepartment of History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine, School of Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Jürgen MüllerDepartment of Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Human Medical Center, Georg August University, Göttingen, Germany.
Katrin AmuntsInstitute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Sabrina Weber-PapenUniversity Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Carmen WeidlerDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Benjamin ClemensDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Adrian RaineDepartments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Ute HabelDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Psychopathy is one of the greatest risk factors for serious and persistent violence. In order to detect its neurobiological substrates, we examined 39 male psychopathic subjects and matched controls using structural MR imaging and the Psychopathy Check-List (PCL-R). Individual brain region volumes were calculated using the Julich-Brain and AAL3 atlases. Associations of region volumes with the PCL-R dimensions among psychopathic subjects and differences between both groups were analysed. PCL-R factor 2 assessing lifestyle and antisocial behaviour showed in the psychopathic sample negative associations with volumes of several regions, including pons, nuclei of basal ganglia, thalamus, basal forebrain (CH-4), cerebellar regions and areas in orbitofrontal, dorsolateral-frontal and insular cortices. These findings suggest dysfunctions in specific frontal-subcortical circuits, which are known to be relevant for behavioral control. In contrast, the interpersonal-affective PCL-R factor 1 showed only weak positive and negative associations with orbitofrontal, dorsolateral-frontal and left hippocampal areas (CA1, subiculum), among others, indicating that involved brain regions might be affected to a variable degree in different individuals. The group comparison yielded a significantly reduced total brain volume in psychopathic subjects relative to controls, while pronounced regional focuses of volume differences were found only in the right subiculum, suggesting an interindividually variable pattern of structural deviations in the brains of psychopathic subjects. In conclusion, these findings are compatible with the dimensionality of the PCL-R construct, and suggest a particulary strong association of antisocial behavior to smaller volumes in widespread subcortical-cortical brain regions.

Indexed as

Antisocial Personality DisorderBrainAdultBrain MappingHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalePsychiatric Status Rating ScalesYoung AdultBrain atlasDBMFrontal-subcortical circuitsMorphometryMRIPsychopathy

Identifiers

PMID40439717
PMCPMC12904969

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.