Resumo

KHETRAPAL, Neha. Psychopathy and a model for disturbed affective consciousness. Suma Psicol. [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.2, pp. 437-442. ISSN 0121-4381.

This article deals with the interaction of emotion and consciousness. It focuses on the perception of fearful stimuli and how such a perception can have implications for psychopathy. Amygdala has been found to be lesioned in the disorder and this compromise of integrity leads to deficits in fear perception, moral socialization and curtailing of aggression. This in turn leads to deficits in adaptive behavior as amygdala is responsible for influencing motor and perceptual responses in response to a fearful stimulus. Amygdala also plays an important role in bringing a fearful stimulus, detected at the attentional periphery, to the focus of attention and awareness so that it can receive enhanced processing which is found to be deficient in psychopathy. This role is supported by its connectivity to different cortical and subcortical areas. Hence this article provides an emphasis on the disturbed affective consciousness of psychopathy and its role in adaptive behavior deficits.

Palavras-chave : Psychopathy; Fear processing; Amygdala; Moral socialization; Aggression; Consciousness.