Quantitative electroencephalographic measures in homicidal men with antisocial personality disorder

Lindberg, Nina; Tani, Pekka; Virkkunen, Matti; Porkka-Heiskanen, Tarja; Appelberg, Björn; Naukkarinen, Hannu; Salmi, Tapani

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2005.05.005

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Volume 136, Issue 1 , Pages 7-15, 15 July 2005

Quantitative electroencephalographic measures in homicidal men with antisocial personality disorder

Nina Lindberg
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Physiology, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, P.O. Box 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Corresponding author. Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland. Tel.: +358 50 5665123; fax: +358 9 19125302.
Pekka Tani
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Physiology, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, P.O. Box 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Matti Virkkunen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen
- Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Physiology, Biomedicum Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, P.O. Box 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Björn Appelberg
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
Hannu Naukkarinen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Lapinlahti Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, P.O. Box 320, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland
Tapani Salmi
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 4, P.O. Box 340, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland

Received 23 October 2004; received in revised form 24 March 2005; accepted 16 May 2005.

Abstract

Many symptoms of antisocial personality disorder have been proposed to be related to decreased daytime vigilance. To explore this hypothesis, quantitative analyses were conducted of the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of drug-free and detoxified homicidal male offenders with antisocial personality disorder as the primary diagnosis. Subjects comprised 16 men recruited from a forensic psychiatric examination in a special ward of a university psychiatric hospital. Fifteen healthy age- and gender-matched controls with no criminal record or history of physical violence consisted of hospital staff and students. An overall reduction of alpha power was observed in the waking EEG of offenders. A bilateral increase in occipital delta and theta power was also found in these individuals. This study provides further support to the growing evidence of brain dysfunction in severe aggressive behavior. Homicidal offenders with antisocial personality disorder seem to have difficulties in maintaining normal daytime arousal. Decreased vigilance, together with social and psychological variables, may explain their aberrant behavior in everyday life. New studies are, however, needed to specify the vigilance problems of this patient group.

Keywords: Quantitative EEG, Antisocial personality disorder, Homicide, Aggression, Vigilance