The Psychopath: Emotion and the Brain

Psychopathy is a disorder embedded in mystique, controversy and fantasy. Consistently portrayed in the media and popular culture as unusual, inhumane and emotionless creatures, individuals with psychopathy are the bogeymen of today’s society, and the label psychopathy is used widely to describe a broad range of notorieties from political figures to serial killers.
This timely new book separates fact from fiction. It presents the scientific facts of psychopathy and antisocial behavior, addressing critical issues such as the definition of psychopathy, the number of psychopathic individuals in society, whether they can be treated, and whether psychopathy is down to nature or nurture.
More controversially, the authors present their ground–breaking research into whether an underlying abnormality in brain development, reducing emotional learning, is at the heart of the disorder. The resulting theory could lead to early diagnosis and revolutionize the way society, the media, and the state both view and contend with the psychopaths in our midst.

Spis treści:
List of Figures and Tables.
Acknowledgments.
1. What is Psychopathy?.
2. The Background Facts.
3. What is the Ultimate Cause of Psychopathy?.
4. The Psychopathic Individual: The Functional Impairment.
5. Cognitive Accounts of Psychopathy.
6. Neural Accounts of Psychopathy.
7. A Neuro–Cognitive Account of Reactive Aggression.
8. A Neuro–Cognitive Account of Psychopathy.
9. Conundrums and Conclusions.
References.
Subject Index.
Author Index.

Nota biograficzna:
James Blair is Chief of the Unit on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program.
Derek Mitchell and Karina Blair both work on the Unit on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program.

Okładka tylna:
Psychopathy is a disorder embedded in mystique, controversy and fantasy. Consistently portrayed in the media and popular culture as unusual, inhumane and emotionless creatures, individuals with psychopathy are the bogeymen of today’s society, and the label psychopathy is used widely to describe a broad range of notorieties from political figures to serial killers.
This timely new book separates fact from fiction. It presents the scientific facts of psychopathy and antisocial behavior, addressing critical issues such as the definition of psychopathy, the number of psychopathic individuals in society, whether they can be treated, and whether psychopathy is down to nature or nurture.
More controversially, the authors present their ground–breaking research into whether an underlying abnormality in brain development, reducing emotional learning, is at the heart of the disorder. The resulting theory could lead to early diagnosis and revolutionize the way society, the media, and the state both view and contend with the psychopaths in our midst.