SummaryThe ability to recognise fear is impaired in people with damage to the
amygdala and, interestingly, in adult psychopathy. Here we confirm that
deficits in recognising fear exist in children with psychopathic traits. We
show for the first time that, as with patients with amygdala damage, this
deficit can be temporarily corrected by simply asking them to focus on the
eyes of other people. These data support models of psychopathy that
emphasise specific dysfunction of the amygdala and suggest an innovative
approach for intervening early in the development of psychopathy.
Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child
psychopathy
