ASPD ASPD Neurobiological and Genetic Factors 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does reduced skin conductance response (SCR) to threat cues indicate in the context of ASPD?
- Heightened emotional sensitivity
- Impaired fear conditioning and reduced autonomic arousal (Correct answer)
- Increased empathy capacity
- Hypervigilance to social threat
Correct answer: Impaired fear conditioning and reduced autonomic arousal
Reduced SCR to threat in ASPD reflects deficient fear conditioning, which contributes to the characteristic failure to learn from punishment.
Question 2: Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis helps explain ASPD by suggesting that affected individuals lack what?
- Working memory capacity
- Bodily signals that guide advantageous decision-making (Correct answer)
- Language processing ability
- Spatial navigation skills
Correct answer: Bodily signals that guide advantageous decision-making
According to the somatic marker hypothesis, ASPD individuals fail to generate the emotional bodily signals that normally guide people away from risky or harmful decisions.
Question 3: Which structural brain finding differentiates primary psychopathy (ASPD with psychopathic features) from secondary psychopathy?
- Secondary psychopathy shows more amygdala reduction
- Primary psychopathy shows more amygdala reduction (Correct answer)
- Both show identical brain structures
- Neither shows any structural differences
Correct answer: Primary psychopathy shows more amygdala reduction
Primary psychopathy is characterized by greater amygdala volume reduction and reduced emotional reactivity, whereas secondary psychopathy involves more prefrontal dysregulation related to anxiety and impulsivity.
Question 4: Low resting heart rate in childhood is considered a biological marker that predicts what in adulthood?
- Higher intelligence
- Antisocial and aggressive behavior (Correct answer)
- Better athletic performance
- Reduced anxiety disorders
Correct answer: Antisocial and aggressive behavior
Low resting heart rate, reflecting reduced autonomic arousal, is one of the strongest biological predictors of later antisocial behavior and ASPD.
Question 5: Gene-environment interaction (GxE) research on ASPD emphasizes that genetic risks are most likely to manifest when combined with what environmental factor?
- High socioeconomic status
- Childhood maltreatment or abuse (Correct answer)
- Urban living
- Academic underachievement alone
Correct answer: Childhood maltreatment or abuse
GxE studies show that genetic predispositions for ASPD (e.g., MAOA-L variant) are most potently expressed when individuals also experience childhood abuse or neglect.
Question 6: Which neuropsychological deficit is most characteristic of ASPD and contributes to poor treatment engagement?
- Impaired spatial memory
- Deficits in response inhibition and reversal learning (Correct answer)
- Reduced verbal fluency
- Impaired facial recognition
Correct answer: Deficits in response inhibition and reversal learning
Deficits in response inhibition and reversal learning mean ASPD individuals struggle to stop rewarded behaviors when consequences change, undermining treatment progress.
ASPD ASPD Neurobiological and Genetic Factors 2
What does reduced skin conductance response (SCR) to threat cues indicate in the context of ASPD?