James Blair, Derek Mitchell, Karina Blair

Gebundenes Buch

The Psychopath

Emotion and the Brain

Beschreibung

Psychopathy is a disorder embedded in mystique, controversy and fantasy. Consistently portrayed in the media and popular culture as unusual, inhumane and emotionless creatures, individuals with psychopathy are the bogeymen of today's society, and the label psychopathy is used widely to describe a broad range of notorieties from political figures to serial killers. This timely new book separates fact from fiction. It presents the scientific facts of psychopathy and antisocial behavior, addressing critical issues such as the definition of psychopathy, the number of psychopathic individuals in society, whether they can be treated, and whether psychopathy is down to nature or nurture. More controversially, the authors present their ground-breaking research into whether an underlying abnormality in brain development, reducing emotional learning, is at the heart of the disorder. The resulting theory could lead to early diagnosis and revolutionize the way society, the media, and the state both view and contend with the psychopaths in our midst.

Autor

James Blair is Chief of the Unit on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program. Derek Mitchell and Karina Blair both work on the Unit on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley
• Seitenzahl: 212
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. September 2005
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 240mm x 161mm x 16mm
• Gewicht: 489g
• ISBN-13: 9780631233350
• ISBN-10: 0631233350
• Artikelnr.: 22329790

Rezensionen

"The psychopath always fascinates, and this new book rises tothe challenge of its subject. The book exhaustively coverseverything known about psychopathy to date. It also brings anexciting new theory, exploring the neuro-biological underpinningsof psychopaths' broken emotions. The Psychopath willbe an engrossing read for any clinician, scientist or student whowants to understand that mysterious individual, the criminalpsychopath." Terrie Moffitt, Institute of Psychiatry,London

"A gem of a contribution to the field of psychopathy, thiswonderful resource provides a highly coherent and integrativereview of developments in cognitive and affective neuroscience andtheir implications for understanding the nature of psychopathy. Theauthors

are passionate about their research and this book presentstheir personal assessment of the field in a remarkably powerful,readable, and detailed manner. The book is an extraordinaryaccomplishment and a boon for the field." Joseph Newman,Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin

"This timely book represents an exciting new synthesiswhich has taken into account emerging data on the biology ofpsychopathy, including its neurocognitive basis. The authorslucidly describe discoveries about emotional processing inpsychopaths and new thinking about its psychiatric nosology. Theyhave performed a notable service in providing this highly readablesurvey, which summarises objectively the strengths and weaknessesof various theoretical accounts, including their own, and theimplications for forensic, adult and child psychiatry."Trevor Robbins, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Universityof Cambridge

"A comprehensive summary of recent research on thecognitive, emotional, and neurological correlates to psychopathy.One of the few resources to consider the manifestations ofpsychopathy throughout the lifespan." Professor Paul J.Frick, Director, Applied Developmental Psychology Program,University of New Orleans

"the book as a whole contains a wealth of information andinsight that make it an excellent avenue into the current state ofknowledge and thinking about psychopathy. The authors' scholarshipis unquestionable, and they bring together an exceptional amount ofinformation within a manageable number of pages...The book willprovoke considerable thought from students, practitioners, andresearchers who will have to integrate their thinking on this vitaltopic." David Nussbaum, PsycCRITIQUES