Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy

Mark R. Dadds; Yael Perry; David J. Hawes; Sabine Merz; Alison C. Riddell; Damien J. Haines; Emel Solak; Amali I. Abeygunawardane

doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.105.018150

Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy

Mark R. Dadds^*, Yael Perry, David J. Hawes, Sabine Merz, Alison C. Riddell, Damien J. Haines, Emel Solak, Amali I. Abeygunawardane

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

333 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability to recognise fear is impaired in people with damage to the amygdala and, interestingly, in adult psychopathy. Here we confirm that deficits in recognising fear exist in children with psychopathic traits. We show for the first time that, as with patients with amygdala damage, this deficit can be temporarily corrected by simply asking them to focus on the eyes of other people. These data support models of psychopathy that emphasise specific dysfunction of the amygdala and suggest an innovative approach for intervening early in the development of psychopathy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	280-281
Number of pages	2
Journal	British Journal of Psychiatry
Volume	189
Issue number	SEP.
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.105.018150
Publication status	Published - Sep 2006
Externally published	Yes

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AU - Haines, Damien J.

AU - Solak, Emel

AU - Abeygunawardane, Amali I.

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AB - The ability to recognise fear is impaired in people with damage to the amygdala and, interestingly, in adult psychopathy. Here we confirm that deficits in recognising fear exist in children with psychopathic traits. We show for the first time that, as with patients with amygdala damage, this deficit can be temporarily corrected by simply asking them to focus on the eyes of other people. These data support models of psychopathy that emphasise specific dysfunction of the amygdala and suggest an innovative approach for intervening early in the development of psychopathy.

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Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy

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