Scientists have discovered what really separates a cold-blooded psychopath from the average person.
A team from the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered stark differences in brain structure that may explain why psychopaths think, feel, and behave in profoundly disturbing ways.
Using MRI scans, researchers compared the brains of 39 adult men with high psychopathy scores to those of a control group, and what they found was unsettling.
In psychopaths, researchers found shrunken areas in the basal ganglia, which controls movement and learning, the thalamus, the body’s sensory relay station, and the cerebellum, which helps coordinate motor function.
But the most striking changes were found in the orbitofrontal cortex and insular regions, areas that govern emotional regulation, impulse control, and social behavior.
In other words, the parts of the brain that keep most people from lying, lashing out or harming others were noticeably compromised.
‘These are the very traits psychopaths struggle with,’ the researchers explained.
However, the scan also revealed weaker connections between brain regions tied to empathy, guilt, and moral reasoning, suggesting that the callous behavior of psychopaths may not just be a personality issue, but is deeply rooted in neural wiring.
A team from the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered stark differences in brain structure that may explain why psychopaths think, feel, and behave in profoundly disturbing ways
While some traits, like deception and manipulation, are likely shaped by life experience, the physical brain differences point to a biological foundation for why psychopaths act the way they do.
And that, scientists say, could help unlock new ways to identify, and possibly treat, individuals at risk of extreme antisocial behavior.
The research, published in European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, found noticeable impairments in the amygdala.
This powerful region helps control fear, anger, and emotional recognition, the foundation for behaving like a socially functioning human being.
When it’s not working properly, the result isn’t just mood swings, it’s a total breakdown in how a person reads others and regulates their behavior.
That disconnect can show up in chilling ways: Psychopaths often can’t display emotions through facial expressions, making them appear cold, detached, or unnervingly shallow.
Impulsive behaviors stem from the neurological abnormalities found in the study, which explained why less than one percent of the global population are psychopaths, but 20 percent of people in prison display psychopathic tendencies.
According to the research, most people don’t commit violent crimes, but 60 percent lie in casual conversation, 40 to 60 percent ignore traffic speed limits, and 10 percent have used illicit drugs.
Using MRI scans, researchers compared the brains of 39 adult men with high psychopathy scores to those of a control group, and what they found was unsettling
Past studies have even suggested that psychopaths may have a malfunctioning mirror neuron system, the part of the brain that helps us mimic and learn behavior by observing others.
In other words, where most people would instinctively learn empathy by watching someone cry or suffer, a psychopath might feel nothing.
Experts often avoid using the label outright, fearing the stigma it carries. Instead, psychologists use a detailed diagnostic tool known as the Psychopathy Checklist to assess traits and assign a score.
Many diagnosed psychopaths don’t end up in prison or treatment. They blend in. They learn how to mimic normal emotions, mask dangerous impulses, and move through society unnoticed.
A study published in March found a disturbing sign that individuals may be psychopaths.
Scientists have found a link between psychopathy and ‘sadism’ – deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others.
Examples of sadism include trolling people online, killing video game characters, killing bugs and even sticking pins on voodoo dolls.
So if you engage in these sadistic behaviours – even if it’s just making other people feel embarrassed online – you could be a psychopath.
The experts, from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, warn that sadism might be more common than previously thought.
In disturbing experiments, they found members of the public were more than willing to startle people and inflict harm on bugs.
‘Sadistic pleasure, gratuitous enjoyment from inflicting pain on others, has devastating interpersonal and societal consequences,’ the experts report.
‘[Our study] is the first to assess state sadism directed at both humans and animals.’
