Executive function as a function of sub-clinical psychopathy

Some aspects of executive function are thought to be dysfunctional in psychopathic individuals. We administered a small battery of neuropsychological tests (spatial alternation task, object alternation task, and Porteus Maze) to two samples of college students and obtained a measure of psychopathy via a self-report questionnaire. Psychopathic traits were related to the tests of object alternation and Porteus Maze but not to the spatial alternation task. Our results support the hypothesis of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) dysfunction with sparing of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in psychopathy and provide a downward extension of this theory to sub-clinical levels of psychopathy.