Psychopathic Traits, Conduct Problems, and the Examination of Self-Referential Processing Using EEG in Incarcerated Adolescents

We examined the self-referential processing of incarcerated youth with psychopathic traits while we recorded their brain waves using EEG. EEG research has shown that frontal alpha asymmetry and activation of brain structures associated with the default mode network (DMN) may be related to self-referential processing. Specifically, there may be greater right frontal alpha activation and/or greater activation in the DMN, and especially the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) when people recognize traits that are true of themselves. The current study aimed to determine if those expected regions of the brain would be active when psychopathic youth read self-descriptive information (e.g., “charm,” “lack of remorse,” “daring”). In order to test these hypotheses, the current study investigated frontal alpha asymmetry, frontal alpha power, and broader alpha activation in the DMN in a sample of 39 detained male adolescents (Mage = 15.79; SD = 1.36) through both EEG recording of alpha activity and source localization analyses (sLORETA) while participants completed the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder scale (PSCD; Salekin & Hare in Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD), 2016) and the Interpersonal Adjectives Scale-Big 5 measure of general personality (IASR-B5; Trapnell & Wiggins in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 781-790, 1990). Findings, surprisingly, indicated some withdrawal-motivated activation patterns in the frontal lobes during the processing of self-relevant information. These findings were not in the expected direction and may indicate an abnormality in processing self-identifying traits. The brain response pattern differed when using sLORETA and when examining the psychopathy dimensions with the grandiose-manipulative traits potentially showing the greatest level of abnormality. Total score and dimensional differences are discussed and future research regarding EEG and self-referential processing is identified.