Psychopaths are charismatic but have an immoral behavior that can hardly be understood by others. Researchers claim that this is due to their neural structure different from that of other people.

The different way in which their brain is connected may be the reason why they are not thinking about the consequences of their immoral actions, according to a new study published in Neuron magazine.

Psychopaths constitute 1% of the total population in the world and up to 25% of all prisoners. Researchers dealing with the investigation of psychopathy define people who fall into this category as being unconscious or without regrets.

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Researchers used a magnetic resonance tomography to record the neural activity of 49 prisoners in several prisons in Wisconsin. Specialists looked at how they relate to the consequences of an action. Prisoners were asked to choose between two options:

• to receive a smaller amount of money immediately;
• to receive a higher amount later.

According to this study, researchers have come to the conclusion that psychopaths were more likely to choose the option that had an immediate effect, choosing a smaller amount of money, instead of a long-term option. This behavior is generated by the way their brain is connected.

The connection between the striatum nucleus and the ventricular prefrontal cortex is much weaker than normal people's connection.

Conclusion

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This experiment suggests that psychopaths have antisocial behavior because their brain is connected in a way that makes them overestimate immediate rewards, neglecting the future costs of their actions. The more their brains were connected, the more they were convicted of more crimes.

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Sources:
Psychopaths Brains Reveal Secrets
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