Reduced Laughter Contagion in Boys at Risk for Psychopathy.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case-control neuroimaging and behavioral study comparing clinical/risk subgroups to controls.
PubMed 28966092 · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.08.062
What was done
Researchers measured neural and behavioral responses to human laughter in typically developing boys compared to boys at risk for antisocial behavior and those at highest risk for developing psychopathy.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, effect sizes, or exact sample sizes. Qualitatively, boys at risk for antisocial behavior showed reduced neural responses to laughter in the supplementary motor area compared to typically developing controls. Boys at highest risk for psychopathy additionally showed reduced neural responses in the anterior insula and reported a reduced desire to join in with others' laughter, a behavioral pattern partially accounted for by the attenuated anterior insula response.
Why it matters
This study identifies reduced neural and behavioral responsiveness to social laughter as a potential neurocognitive mechanism underlying impaired social affiliation in youth at risk for psychopathy.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, demographic details beyond sex (boys only), quantitative statistics, or effect sizes. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether reduced laughter contagion causally drives the development of psychopathic traits or merely correlates with them.
Cited by
- partial Individuals with psychopathy do not experience contagious yawning, contagious smiling, or contagious laughter.