INc-UAB seminar: Dr. Kostas A. Fanti

"Understanding conduct disorder subtypes: Evidence from neurophysiological studies and treatments"

Much of contemporary research on conduct disorder (CD) focuses on callous-unemotional (CU) traits, owing to the distinct ability of this deficient affect dimension to differentiate among antisocial youth. Three neurocognitive impairments are proposed to underlie the clinical symptoms of the CU subtype of CD: insensitivity to others’ distress, reduced threat sensitivity, and impaired decision-making. I will present evidence from my work examining these impairments using multiple neuro-physiological assessments, including autonomic and brain activity, eye-tracking, Virtual-Reality, and face-processing. Finally, I will present findings from our cognitive-neuroscience treatments, which were developed based on the identified socioemotional needs of individuals high on CU-traits.