- under current diagnostic systems, antisocial personality disorder is not formally diagnosed before the age of 18 but the features of the disorder can manifest earlier as conduct disorder. People with conduct disorder typically show antisocial, aggressive or defiant behaviour, which is persistent and repetitive, including aggression to people or animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness, theft and serious rule-breaking
- neuroimaging studies have shown the involvement in this pathological condition of prefrontal areas, especially orbitofrontal cortex, and amygdala in individual with antisocial personality disorder
- also individuals exhibit alterations in measures of 5-HT system, such as blunted hormonal response to 5-HT pharmacological challenges and reduced 5-HT receptors numbers
- there may be EEG abnormalities in individuals antisocial personality disorder
- study evidence revealed EEG abnormalisties in 50% of violent offenders (2)
- a more recent study revealed attenuated alpha rhythm and theta and delta activities increase in the frontal lobe in violent offenders with antisocial personality disorder (3)
