Psychopaths: The Truth Behind their Existence

A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.

Biological Explanation for Psychopathy

Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy.

The research investigated the brain biology of psychopaths with convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape with strangulation and false imprisonment. Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) the researchers have highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of behaviour and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy.

Biological Explanation for Psychopathy

Dr. Michael Craig said: 'If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system.' While psychopathy is strongly associated with serious criminal behaviour (eg rape and murder) and repeat offending, the biological basis of psychopathy remains poorly understood. Also some investigators stress mainly social reasons to explain antisocial behaviours. To date, nobody has investigated the 'connectivity' between the specific brain regions implicated in psychopathy.

Behavior of a Psychopath

The study of the psychopath reveals an individual who is incapable of feeling guilt, remorse or empathy for their actions. They are generally cunning, manipulative and know the difference between right and wrong but dismiss it as applying to them. They are incapable of normal emotions such as love, generally react without considering the consequences of their actions and show extreme egocentric and narcissistic behaviour.

Most Notorious Psychopaths in History

He was a pedophile, sadomasochist, a cannibal and a vampire. He liked to torture before killing his victims. His character was personified as Hannibal Lechter in a famous movie Silence of the Lambs. He confessed to have tortured, molested and mutilated his victims. He drank the victims blood and would cook and ate the bodies. He boasted to have molested more than 100 children. He was sentenced to death and executed in electric chair in 1936. He was 65 years old when executed.

Most Notorious Psychopaths in History

Her story was the inspiration of the movie Monster starring Charlize Theron as Lee and Christina Ricci as Shelby, Lees lover. The media called her as American First Female Serial Killer, although she was in fact not the first. She murdered seven truck drivers in Florida Highway. She robbed her victims and shot them to death.

Most Notorious Psychopaths in History

He established a sect in California in the late 1960s and declared himself as a Prophet. His followers were mostly young woman with troubled family relationship. He instructed his followers to do some killings including the murder of famous Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and her guests. Manson and his followers stabbed and shot his victims to death. Following a much publicized trials he and his followers were variably sentenced.

Most Notorious Psychopaths in History

Following a long period of constant denial, he finally confessed to have murdered 30 young girls from 1974 1978. He raped and killed his victims by bludgeoning or strangulation. Sometimes he decapitated his victims with hacksaw and kept the severed heads in his room. After some time the heads and the remaining bodies were dumped in Taylor Mountain. He visited and re-visited the bodies in Taylor Mountain frequently. He applied make up to the corpses and had sex with the decomposing bodies.

Most Notorious Psychopaths in History

No one knew of his crimes, until Iqbal sent letter to the police in which he proudly declared that he had murdered 100 boys in Punjab Lahore, Pakistan. He also stated that he had no regret for it. He picked boys from the street and drugged, raped and eventually strangled them to death. Iqbal kept the clothes and shoes of the victims as trophies of his crimes. The dead bodies was cut into small pieces and kept in drums full of chloric acid outside his home until the remains were fully dissolved. After his 50th murder, he started taking pictures of the victims.