Florence Philipp-Wiegmann

Reduced Cortical Inhibition in Violent Offenders: A Study with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Background: Aggression and violent behaviour are often regarded as a threat to society. Therefore, understanding violent behaviour has high social relevance. We performed a study with transcranial magnetic stimulation on a sample of violent offenders in order to measure cortical inhibition in the motor neuron system that is part of the frontal cortex. Methods: To investigate intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation, we conducted paired-pulse stimulation according to the technique of Kujirai and his group (see Method). The investigation sample comprised 62 right-handers: 32 prisoners who had committed severe violent crimes and 30 controls with no history of violence. All subjects were male and matched for age. Results: Using the paired-pulse paradigm with interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 1–15 ms, a reduced cortical inhibition (ISI: 3 ms) was found in the left cortex of violent offenders compared with control subjects. Conclusions: These findings corroborate the hypothesis of inhibition deficits and frontal cortex dysfunction in violent offenders when compared with non-violent control subjects.

Clinical symptoms of ADHD and psychopathy in perpetrators

ADHD and psychopathy are both associated with poor social adaptation and antisocial behavior. Previous studies have also suggested that ADHD and psychopathy share some symptomatology. The current study attempted to further uncover the relationship between ADHD and psychopathy in perpetrators by investigating the possibility of underlying common factors of ADHD and psychopathy using standardized instruments. Correlation analyses and principal component analyses were performed on ADHD-SB self-rating questionnaires and the PCL-SV from a population of 314 offenders. Further, subjects without ADHD, full ADHD and partially remitted ADHD according to DSM-IV were compared regarding psychopathic traits. ADHD and psychopathy rating scores were found to be correlated. Only psychopathic features related to unstable and antisocial lifestyle, but not related to affective features of psychopathy accounted to this association. Findings on the principal component analysis suggest that ADHD and psychopathy are unrelated on a symptomatic level, with the exception of impulsivity, which is a common feature that seems to combine both constructs.

A case report of necrophilia--a psychopathological view.

This paper presents the case of a 40-year-old German man who was convicted for disturbing the dead. He performed heterosexual necrophilic acts over the course of two decades. The most recent case was well documented by the necrophiliac himself by means of photography and video. His actions ranged from visiting cemeteries to dissecting bodies and taking the body parts home with him for sexual purposes. The perpetrator displayed no signs of other psychiatric illnesses. The case is discussed in light of the currently available literature.

Assessment of cortical inhibition in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder by paired-chirp auditory evoked potentials

In order to further research cortical impairment in ADHD patients, late auditory evoked potentials were measured. By using paired-chirp auditory late responses, we compared the ADHD group against a control group, focusing on the inhibition elicited by the stimuli. The results show overall smaller amplitudes in the N100 and P200 waves, as well as a reduced inhibition in test chirp for ADHD patients. A frequency study using the wavelet phase synchronization stability transform was made in order to strengthen the results, as well as analysis of variance test for frequency and reproducibility index for amplitude. Both amplitude and frequency show there is an impaired auditory inhibition in ADHD patients, for interstimulus intervals of 500 and 700 ms, and reinforce the knowledge that impairments in this condition are present in multiple cortical areas.

Psychometrische Güte der Selbst- und Fremdbeurteilungsinstrumente ADHS-SB und Wender-Reimherr-Interview bei Senioren mit Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung

Objective and Methods The aim of the study was to explore the psychometric properties of the ADHD self-rating ADHD-SR and the observer-rating Wender-Reimherr-Interview WRI for the assessment of ADHD symptoms in old age by using a sample of 324 subjects between 60 and 99 years. Results In the sample of older people the psychometric properties of the ADHD-SR and the WRI were adequate. Evidence for construct validity is provided through the WRI. Results of logistic analysiss showed a good discrimination of ADHD for both, the ADHD-SR (89.5 % correct classification; OR = 25.91) and the WRI (86.1 % correct classification; OR = 4.7); specificity ranged between 81 % and 94 %. Conclusion The study shows that both, the ADHD-SR and the WRI, are reliable and valid as tools for the assessment of ADHD in older adults.

Emotional facial recognition in proactive and reactive violent offenders

The purpose of this study is to analyse individual differences in the ability of emotional facial recognition in violent offenders, who were characterised as either reactive or proactive in relation to their offending. In accordance with findings of our previous study, we expected higher impairments in facial recognition in reactive than proactive violent offenders. To assess the ability to recognize facial expressions, the computer-based Facial Emotional Expression Labeling Test (FEEL) was performed. Group allocation of reactive und proactive violent offenders and assessment of psychopathic traits were performed by an independent forensic expert using rating scales (PROREA, PCL-SV). Compared to proactive violent offenders and controls, the performance of emotion recognition in the reactive offender group was significantly lower, both in total and especially in recognition of negative emotions such as anxiety (d = −1.29), sadness (d = −1.54), and disgust (d = −1.11). Furthermore, reactive violent offenders showed a tendency to interpret non-anger emotions as anger. In contrast, proactive violent offenders performed as well as controls. General and specific deficits in reactive violent offenders are in line with the results of our previous study and correspond to predictions of the Integrated Emotion System (IES, 7) and the hostile attribution processes (21). Due to the different error pattern in the FEEL test, the theoretical distinction between proactive and reactive aggression can be supported based on emotion recognition, even though aggression itself is always a heterogeneous act rather than a distinct one-dimensional concept.