Antisocial personality disorder, childhood delinquency, and frontal brain functioning: EEG and neuropsychological findings.

This experiment examined the ability of EEG activity and neuropsychological testing to predict both antisocial personality disorder (ASP) and retrospective self-ratings of early childhood problem behaviors (CPB). Regression analyses found that increased frontal left-hemisphere EEG activation was associated with a decreased likelihood of the diagnosis of ASP or CPB. An association was also found between several motor tests of the Luria-Nebraska and Porteus Maze Test scores and CPB/ASP. The current findings suggest that ASP and CPB are associated with variations in frontal lobe functioning. They further suggest that disturbances in prefrontal functioning may be a common biological ground that links ASP, substance abuse, and biological mechanisms of reinforcement.