The effects of callous-unemotional traits and aggression subtypes on amygdala activity in response to negative faces (vol 52, pg 476, 2023)

Summary: Brain imaging studies have shown differences in amygdala activity and skin conductance responses to emotional faces between children and adolescents with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) and typically developing peers. Subtyping based on aggression-related subtypes did not significantly impact amygdala activity, while stratification based on callous-unemotional (CU) traits was more sensitive and showed decreased amygdala activity in those with high CU traits. Our insights could be valuable for improved diagnostics and personalized treatment.