Summary.
Low serotonin activity in man has been related to impulsive, self-destructive violence but not to instrumental aggression aimed at dominance. A relationship has also been suggested between aggression and high catecholaminergic activity. Several studies have reported signs of aberrant dopaminergic function in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and schizophrenia. In 22 violent offenders undergoing pretrial forensic psychiatric investigation, interpersonal and behavioral features of psychopathy, measured by the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), were significantly predicted by low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of 5-HIAA and high CSF concentrations of HVA in multivariate regression models. CSF concentrations of MHPG did not contribute to the model. This seems to link the outward-directed aggression of psychopathy to serotonergic hypofunctioning and high dopamine turnover, which might account for disinhibition of destructive impulses.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received October 25, 2000; accepted February 21, 2001
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Soderstrom, H., Blennow, K., Manhem, A. et al. CSF studies in violent offenders¶I. 5-HIAA as a negative and HVA as a positive predictor of psychopathy. J Neural Transm 108, 869–878 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020170036
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020170036