Melina Nicole Kyranides

Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences

The current study aimed to identify atypical neurophysiological activity associated with deficient affective processing in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits (CU). Fifty-six participants (M age = 20.52; 46% male) divided in two groups, differentiated on levels of CU traits, were invited to participate in the experimental phase of the study. Medial prefrontal cortex activity, measured with functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and facial electro-myography activity were recorded during videos depicting violent, comedy and neutral scenes. Individuals high on CU traits showed similar medial prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) activity to positive and negative films, while the pre-frontal cortical responses of low CU individuals were more pronounced to positive than negative materials. High CU participants also showed reduced facial electromyography at the corrugator muscle in response to violent films, which was not differentiated from their responses to comedy films. These findings suggest that individuals high on CU traits show reduced but not absent (i.e., flat) affect to emotional material. Deficits in processing positive and negative valent material, measured with different neuro-physiological modalities, might be essential to understand CU traits.

Validation of the Greek Cypriot Translation of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure

ABSTRACT Psychopathy is conceived of as a pathological constellation of personality traits, manifested in aberrant behavioral, interpersonal, and emotional tendencies. This study examined within a Greek-speaking nonclinical sample (N = 419) associations between differing phenotypic dimensions of psychopathy (boldness, meanness, disinhibition) assessed via the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) and self-report criterion measures of psychopathology, personality, and history of abuse and neglect. Consistent with predictions of the triarchic model of psychopathy, evidence was found for distinct correlates of the 3 phenotypic dimensions. Boldness was associated with both adaptive (immunity to anxiety/distress, fearlessness, low hostility) and maladaptive tendencies (grandiose manipulative traits, Machiavellian features including desire for control/status, and verbal aggression). Meanness was related to callous and unemotional traits, features of Machiavellianism (e.g., amoral manipulation and distrust of others), physical aggression, and absence of positive parenting. Disinhibition, by contrast, was characterized by anxiety and distress, exposure to violence, and retrospective accounts of abuse history, along with impulsive, irresponsible, and hostile tendencies. These findings indicate that the Greek-Cypriot translation of the TriPM effectively assesses the constructs of the triarchic model and extend what we know about their empirical correlates.

Callous‐unemotional, impulsive‐irresponsible, and grandiose‐manipulative traits: Distinct associations with heart rate, skin conductance, and startle responses to violent and erotic scenes

The present study aimed to examine whether callous-unemotional, grandiose-manipulative, and impulsive-irresponsible dimensions of psychopathy are differentially related to various affective and physiological measures, assessed at baseline and in response to violent and erotic movie scenes. Data were collected from young adults (N = 101) at differential risk for psychopathic traits. Findings from regression analyses revealed a unique predictive contribution of grandiose-manipulative traits in particular to higher ratings of positive valence for violent scenes. Callous-unemotional traits were uniquely associated with lower levels of sympathy toward victims and lower ratings of fear and sadness during violent scenes. All three psychopathy dimensions and the total psychopathy scale showed negative zero-order correlations with heart rate at baseline, but regression analyses revealed that only grandiose manipulation was uniquely predictive of lower baseline heart rate. Grandiose manipulation was also significantly associated with lower baseline skin conductance. Regarding autonomic activity, findings resulted in a unique negative association between grandiose manipulation and heart rate activity in response to violent scenes. In contrast, the impulsive-irresponsible dimension was positively related with heart rate activity to violent scenes. Finally, findings revealed that only callous-unemotional traits were negatively associated with startle potentiation in response to violent scenes. No associations during erotic scenes were identified. These findings point to unique associations between the three assessed dimensions of psychopathy with physiological measures, indicating that grandiose manipulation is associated with hypoarousal, impulsive irresponsibility with hyperarousal, and callous-unemotional traits with low emotional and fear responses to violent scenes.

Neurophysiological markers associated with heterogeneity in conduct problems, callous unemotional traits, and anxiety: Comparing children to young adults.

Evidence from physiological studies has been integral in many causal theories of behavioral and emotional problems. However, this evidence is hampered by the heterogeneity characterizing these problems. The current study adds to prior work by identifying neuro-physiological markers associated with heterogeneity in conduct problems (CP), callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and anxiety. Participants were classified into the following groups: (a) low risk, (b) anxious (predominately high anxiety), (c) primary (scored high on CP and CU traits but low on anxiety), and (d) secondary (high anxiety, CU traits, and CP). Developmental differences were also examined by including two different samples assessed during young adulthood (Study 1: n = 88; Mage = 19.92; 50% female) and childhood (Study 2: n = 72; Mage = 5.78, SD = 1.33; 39 males). Participants in both studies were recruited from community samples (Study 1: n = 2,306; Mage = 16, SD = .89; Study 2: n = 850; Mage = 5.01, SD = .95). Physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance, startle modulation) were recorded while children and adults watched negative affective and neutral scenes. Medial prefrontal activation (oxygenated hemoglobin) was also measured in young adults. Findings suggested that individuals in the secondary and anxious psychopathy groups showed higher physiological arousal and startle reactivity to violent, fearful, and anger stimuli compared to individuals in the primary psychopathy group. In contrast, primary and secondary psychopathy groups showed similar physiological reactions to sad stimuli assessed during childhood. Also, young adults in the primary and secondary subtypes showed lower medial prefrontal cortex activation to violent stimuli compared to the anxious group. These findings provide evidence for the value of a multidomain approach for identifying neurophysiological mechanisms that can inform prevention and treatment efforts.