Trait Disinhibition and NoGo Event-Related Potentials in Violent Mentally Disordered Offenders and Healthy Controls

Carl Delfin; Emily Ruzich; Märta Wallinius; Malin Björnsdotter; Peter Andiné

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577491

Trait Disinhibition and NoGo Event-Related Potentials in Violent Mentally Disordered Offenders and Healthy Controls

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 11:11:577491. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577491. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Carl Delfin^{1

2}, Emily Ruzich³, Märta Wallinius^{1

2

4}, Malin Björnsdotter^{1

5}, Peter Andiné^{1

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
² Research Department, Regional Forensic Psychiatric Clinic, Växjö, Sweden.
³ MedTech West, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁴ Lund Clinical Research on Externalizing and Developmental Psychopathology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Affective Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁶ Forensic Psychiatric Clinic, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁷ Department of Forensic Psychiatry, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Abstract

Trait disinhibition may function as a dispositional liability toward maladaptive behaviors relevant in the treatment of mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). Reduced amplitude and prolonged latency of the NoGo N2 and P3 event-related potentials have emerged as promising candidates for transdiagnostic, biobehavioral markers of trait disinhibition, yet no study has specifically investigated these two components in violent, inpatient MDOs. Here, we examined self-reported trait disinhibition, experimentally assessed response inhibition, and NoGo N2 and P3 amplitude and latency in male, violent MDOs (N = 27) and healthy controls (N = 20). MDOs had a higher degree of trait disinhibition, reduced NoGo P3 amplitude, and delayed NoGo P3 latency compared to controls. The reduced NoGo P3 amplitude and delayed NoGo P3 latency in MDOs may stem from deficits during monitoring or evaluation of behavior. NoGo P3 latency was associated with increased trait disinhibition in the whole sample, suggesting that trait disinhibition may be associated with reduced neural efficiency during later stages of outcome monitoring or evaluation. Findings for NoGo N2 amplitude and latency were small and non-robust. With several limitations in mind, this is the first study to demonstrate attenuated NoGo P3 amplitude and delayed NoGo P3 latency in violent, inpatient MDOs compared to healthy controls.

Keywords: ERP; N2; P3; event-related potential; forensic psychiatry; mentally disordered offenders; trait disinhibition.