What is Psychopathy?

Psychopathy is generally considered to be a more severe form of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Though it is important to note that there are differences between the two disorders. To start off, psychopathy is not an official diagnosis is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is used by the majority of mental health professionals to diagnose mental illnesses. ASPD is found in the DSM-5 and is considered to be an official diagnosis.

Both of these disorders display very similar symptoms which is why it is easy to get them confused. Psychopathy is marked by a lack of empathy, shallow emotions, impulsiveness, manipulative behavior, lack of remorse and guilt, and a disregard for social norms and the law.

While ASPD is marked by a disregard for and a violation of the rights of others, impulsiveness, aggression, lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse, irresponsibility, disregard for societal norms and laws, and substance abuse. Adults diagnosed with ASPD must also have been diagnosed with a different disorder called conduct disorder as a child or teenager. This is because the DSM doesn’t allow for children to be diagnosed with personality disorders, but ASPD generally begins to develop during a person’s mid-teenage years.

It is important to note that the most important difference between psychopathy and ASPD is that psychopathy is defined more by personality traits while ASPD is defined more by observable behaviors. However, neither of these disorders automatically makes a persona violent or a criminal.

How is the brain affected?

The direct cause of psychopathy and general antisocial behavior is still unknown, but there have been new discoveries on the genetic irregularities behind the disorder. Certain genes like PRL109 and ZNF132 have been found to be abnormally upregulated in people with psychopathy that have committed violent crimes. ZNF132 had the strongest association and is a gene linked to developmental and malignant disorders. It was found to have very high levels in the neurons found in the cerebellum. The cerebellum is not only in charge of fine motor movements but has also been found to regulate our social behaviors. The cerebellum does this by affecting the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) which is linked to our reward system. If there is too much of the gene ZNF132 in the cerebellum this causes the cerebellum to release incorrect of amounts of DA which could negatively affect social behaviors.

Another gene that was found to be important for the antisocial behaviors of psychopathy is the OPCML gene. This gene affects the opiate receptors in are brain. These receptors are important for regulating processes of pain, pleasure and reward. A dysregulation of the OPCML gene causes these receptors to not do their job effectively which adds to the explanation of antisocial behaviors. This gene can also help explain why people with psychopathy and ASPD are often also diagnosed with substance abuse disorders.

Finally, there has been a connection made between insulin resistance and antisocial behaviors. This insulin resistance is connected to abnormal glucose metabolism that is marked by the downregulation of the gene PSMD3. These abnormalities have been connected to impulsive and violent behaviors. This is possibly because the brain relies heavily on glucose and when it cannot metabolize glucose correctly this puts stress on the neurons and causes further dysregulation of functions throughout the brain, leading to antisocial and violent behaviors.

What can be done?

Unfortunately, there are not many treatments for psychopathy. This is partially because there is very limited research of the disorder. Currently to go-to for treating both psychopathy and ASPD is counseling or therapy. This counseling focuses on trying to teach people with psychopathy how to manage their behaviors and regulate their emotions. This treatment also focuses on teaching them how to recognize their behavior and interact effectively with others. For ASPD, some medications can be used to manage any severe anger or depressive symptoms.

But there is a new form of treatment emerging called the decompression model. This model of treatment has been tested on youths in Wisconsin that have been diagnosed with conduct disorder and have been arrested for criminal behavior. This model focuses on a positive reward system for good behavior rather than a punishment system for bad behavior. The aim of this treatment is to teach young adults with conduct disorder the benefits of following social norms so they will be less likely to resort back to criminal behavior. This treatment has shown impressive results, but more research still needs to be done to determine its efficacy for widespread use.

References

Fisher, K. A., & Hany, M. (2022, August 15). Antisocial Personality Disorder . National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/home/.

Pomeroy, R. (2014, July 11). Can psychopaths be cured? . Real Clear Science. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/07/can_psychopaths_be_cured.html.

Promises Behavioral Health. (2023, March 1). Psychopathy vs. antisocial personality disorder. Promises Behavioral Health. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.promises.com/addiction-blog/psychopathy-vs-antisocial-personality-disorder/.

Tiihonen, J., Koskuvi, M., Lahteenvuo, M., Virtanen, P. L. J., Ojansuu, I., Vaurio, O., Gao, Y., Hyotylainen, I., Puttonen, K. A., Repo-Tiihonen, E., Paunio, T., Rautiainen, M. R., Tyni, S., Koistinaho, J., & Lehtonen, S. (2020). Neurobiological roots of psychopathy. Molecular Psychiatry, 25. 3432-3441. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0488-z.

What is psychopathy? Psychopathy Is. (2023, February 24). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://psychopathyis.org/what-is-psychopathy/.

What really is sleep?

We all know what sleep is and what it looks like, but what goes on in the brain during sleep? You may have heard that it’s good for you; that it helps heal your brain. But how does it do this? What are dreams? You may have also heard that sleeping helps improve you memory, how does that work?

Phases

Sleeping is a repetitive cycle of varying brain activity. In a typical night the average person will go through 4-6 of these cycles.

• Stage 1: NREM (non-rapid eye movement) 1, this stage typically lasts 1-7 minutes and is really just the beginning of when you fall asleep. The body is not fully relaxed, but brain and body activities start to decrease.
• Stage2: NREM2, this typically lasts 10-25 minutes during the first cycle. The body drop sin temperature, and breathing and heart rate will slow down. Brain activity also starts to decrease.
• Stage 3: NREM3, this is known as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep. Muscle tone, breathing, and heart rate decrease greatly in this stage. Brain activity takes on large, and ‘slow-moving’ waves known as delta waves.
• Stage 4: REM (rapid eye movement). Brain activity during this stage mimics activity while awake, and muscle paralysis will set in. Even though the eyes remain closed they are moving quickly

REM Sleep

REM sleep is often regarded as the stage where a lot of the benefits of sleep occur. EEG analysis shows that memory consolidation pathways are activated during REM sleep. The more you learn throughout the day increased the amount of REM sleep during that night, indicating that REM sleep is important for learning and memory formation. You can read more about sleep cycles and REM here.

Pull an All-Nighter or Sleep?

Given the research showing that REM sleep can help consolidate memories, is it better to spend more time studying? Or is it better to study what you need then sleep on it? A lot of benefit can come from sleeping rather that studying all night long.

References

1. Stages of sleep: What happens in a sleep cycle. Sleep Foundation. (2023, March 2). Retrieved March 29, 2023

2. ScienceDaily. (2020, June 5). Memory consolidation during REM sleep. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2023

What is memory consolidation?

In the most simplest terms, memory consolidation is the process of converting a short term memory into a more stable, long-term memory. Memory formation typically occurs in three different stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Encoding is the sensory inputs that have to be transformed into storable memory inputs. Storage then is how that encoded information is then transferred to the sense organs and retained. Finally, retrieval is how one can get access to the actual memory stores in the brain when wanting to recover information. The biology of how conscious memory is stored is that it is dependent on storage in the hippocampus and neocortex. The information is first stored in the hippocampus, known for its fast-learning system. Next, it is trained in the slow learning system of the neocortex. Memory consolidation is strengthened through this process by potentiation-a process requiring conduction of information from neuron to neuron to create a strong synaptic workforce. The more signals that pass through the synapse from one to neuron to the next, the more potentiation is built.

However, how does sleep play a role in this potentiation? REM sleep. That is the key stage of sleep that seems to have the greatest impact in strengthening potentiation. REM sleep is known as active sleep, which elicits neuronal activity in the brain through neuronal plasticity. The promotion of neuronal activity during REM sleep can therefore help consolidate memories and information a person stored during the day.¹

Environmental Impacts

Proper REM sleep is vital in making short term memories more long term. The network of information that the active neurons build during REM sleep can impact overall memory. One issue greatly disturbing this sleep is the environment that people live in. Those living in poverty or a dangerous neighborhood with high crime rates may experience more difficulties getting proper sleep in all stages of the cycle. Imagine living in a neighborhood with gangs venturing outside your door. Imagine living by train tracks with a train that speeds by every night. Perhaps you live in a city that never sleeps. These interruptions can disrupt a person’s sleep cycle, having negative implications on the ability of their neurons to strengthen that synaptic plasticity during REM sleep. A sleep environment should be a dark, cool, and quiet place; this is not necessarily easy for most of the population to check off before going to bed.² There are over 648 million people in the world that live in extreme poverty, and even more that live in poor conditions comparable to that.³ That is a lot of people likely not getting the proper sleep due to their living conditions being in poor environments. Even cities with poorly insulated apartments can result in noises from neighbors that can disrupt sleep. The number of environmental reasons for sleep disruption is unbelievable.

Conclusion

Sleep is so important in the development of synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation through potentiation. While of course awake repetition of the learned information to transition the short term memory into a long one is important as well, sleep is a push towards really solidifying that memory without actively studying. In a sense, it almost feels like magic in how the mind works to build stronger neuron connections while we peacefully sleep. Of course, peaceful sleep is not a privilege everyone has and is a difficult issue to solve because of all the different factors contributing to the disruption.

Citations:

1. Memory consolidation. (2020, August 28). Ian. https://human-memory.net/memory-consolidation/#Basics_of_Memory_Consolidation
2. Creating a good sleep environment. (2021, June 29). CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/environment.html
3. Schoch, M., Baah, S. K. T., Lakner, C., & Friedman, J. (n.d.). Half of the global population lives on less than US$6.85 per person per day. World Bank Blogs. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day
4. Feld, G. B., & Diekelmann, S. (2020). Building the Bridge: Outlining steps toward an applied sleep-and-memory research program. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(6), 554–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420964171

Artstract by Jessica Howard

The Stages of Sleep  

There are four different sleep stages that are identified by the type of brain waves present during each stage (Patel, Reddy, Shumway, & Araujo, 2022). These brain waves range from high frequency to lower frequencies. The highest frequency wave is called the beta waves with the next highest being alpha waves. These waves are both present during wakefulness.  

Stage 1 of sleep, also know as non-REM 1, is the lightest stage of sleep and is marked by starting as alpha waves and moving into low voltage theta waves. During this stage there is still muscle tone and regular breathing rates.  

  Stage 2 of sleep is non-REM 2 and is a deeper sleep than non-REM1. Theta waves are the predominant brain wave during this stage. There are also sleep spindles and K complexes present during this stage. Sleep spindles are short bursts of neurons firing that possibly play a role in memory consolidation. K Complexes are brief delta waves, the longest of the brain waves, that are associated with maintaining sleep.  

Stage 3 of sleep is the deepest stage of non-REM sleep. During this stage there are Delta waves which are the lowest frequency of the brain waves. During this stage the body can repair tissue and strengthen its immune system. This is also the most difficult stage to awaken from, and when people are awakened during this stage they experience a state of mental grogginess.  

REM sleep stands for Rapid Eye Movement and is very different from the other stages of sleep. During REM sleep beta waves are present and is therefore not considered to be a restful stage of sleep. However, this is the stage where dreams occur. During this stage the muscles are paralyzed except for the eyes and diaphragm breathing muscles (Patel, et. al., 2022).  

Why is sleep important  

Sleep plays several functions in the overall health of the body. It gives the body a chance to rest and heal from the past day. But sleep also gives the brain a chance to sort through all the new memories that it has experienced and prepare for the new experiences of tomorrow. REM sleep and the deep stages of non-REM sleep seem to be the most important for consolidating the memories of that day (Wein, 2017). This is the time where the hippocampus (which is the part of your brain in charge of memory) is working to connect all of these memories together and get them stored permanently (Xia & Storm, 2017). Specifically, it seems that certain pathways inside the cells of the hippocampus are important for the formation of new proteins related to these old memories, which is how the memories seem to outlive the original proteins they were connected to. Pathways such as the MAPK cascade are activated by calcium (Ca) dependent NMDA receptors, which allow Ca to enter the cell when activated. As Ca enters into the cell through these receptors it depolarizes the cell which starts the MAPK pathway. As the cell depolarizes, or gains a more positive charge, this starts a series of reactions. Protein kinases, which are just enzymes, start to phosphorylate (or add a phosphorus molecule) to other protein kinases called Ras, Raf, MEK, and ERK. The phosphorylation of these enzymes causes them to change shape to activate each other, in the final step is the phosphorylation of a transcription factor called CREB. CREB can then enter into the nucleus and start gene transcription to make a new protein. This protein is then associated with a memory because it is from the hippocampus (Xia & Storm, 2017).

Xia, Z., & Storm, D. (2017). Role of circadian rhythm and REM sleep for memory consolidation. Elsevier: Neuroscience Research 118. 13-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2017.04.011.  

Though the light stages of non-REM sleep also play an important role (Wein, 2017). These stages seem to be most connected to getting the brain ready to receive new information when it wakes up. When these stages are cut short the brain not only doesn’t have enough time to consolidate the old memories, it also doesn’t have time to prepare to receive the new information. This can drastically reduce your ability to retain information the following day, which is a big problem for students (Wein, 2017). 

How can you improve your sleep  

The best way to improve your quality of sleep and the amount of sleep you get is to maintain good sleep hygiene (Hershner & Shaikh, 2021). Sleep hygiene is just a term used to describe healthy sleep habits. It is important that you get enough sleep every night, while the exact amount of sleep varies from person to person it’s generally best to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. It’s also important to remain consistent with your sleep schedule every single day. Try to go to bed and get up at the same times, even for the weekends and on vacation. If you have trouble falling asleep it may help to not have any caffeine after 12 pm and to turn off all your electronics 20 minutes before actually going to bed. Another thing you can do is to have an established bedtime routine that you do every single night. This will help to signal to your brain that it’s time for sleep, and it can start releasing hormones such as melatonin to make you sleepy (Hershner & Shaikh, 2021).  

  There of course are many more things you can try to help you improve your sleep quality, but the tips listed above can be a good place to start. It can by really hard to change your sleepy habits, especially when it comes to using electronics and staying up to late. But by sticking with a regular routine your brain will eventually become acclimated and it will become easier to get more higher quality sleep.  

References

Hershner, S., & Shaikh, I. (Eds.). (2021, April 2). Healthy sleep habits. Sleep Education. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://sleepeducation.org/healthy-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits/  

Patel, A. K., Reddy, V., Shumway, K. R., & Araujo, J. F. (2022, September 7). Physiology, sleep stages – statpearls – NCBI bookshelf. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/  

Wein, H. (Ed.). (2017, July 13). Sleep on it. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/04/sleep-it#:~:text=Memories%20seem%20to%20become%20more,may%20help%20with%20problem%2Dsolving.  

Xia, Z., & Storm, D. (2017). Role of circadian rhythm and REM sleep for memory consolidation. Elsevier: Neuroscience Research 118. 13-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2017.04.011.