Background: Few studies have investigated the impact of the psychopathic traits on the EEG of teenagers with conduct disorder (CD). To date, there is no other research studying low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) technique using quantitative EEG (QEEG) analysis in adolescents with CD and psychopathic traits.
Objective: To find electrophysiological differences specifically related to the psychopathic traits. The current investigation compares the QEEG and the current source density measures between adolescents with CD and psychopathic traits and adolescents with CD without psychopathic traits.
Methods: The resting EEG activity and LORETA for the EEG fast spectral bands were evaluated in 42 teenagers with CD, 25 with and 17 without psychopathic traits according to the Antisocial Process Screening Device. All adolescents were assessed using the DSM-IV-TR criteria. The EEG visual inspection characteristics and the use of frequency domain quantitative analysis techniques (narrow band spectral parameters) are described.
Results: QEEG analysis showed a pattern of beta activity excess on the bilateral frontal-temporal regions and decreases of alpha band power on the left central-temporal and right frontal-central-temporal regions in the psychopathic traits group. Current source density calculated at 17.18 Hz showed an increase within fronto-temporo-striatal regions in the psychopathic relative to the nonpsychopathic traits group.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that QEEG analysis and techniques of source localization may reveal differences in brain electrical activity among teenagers with CD and psychopathic traits, which was not obvious to visual inspection. Taken together, these results suggest that abnormalities in a fronto-temporo-striatal network play a relevant role in the neurobiological basis of psychopathic behavior.
Keywords: EEG; LORETA; QEEG; conduct disorder; psychopathic traits.