Disinhibitory psychopathology: A new perspective and a model for research.

Abstract

The syndrome produced by lesion of the septum in animals can serve as a functional research model of human disinhibitory psychopathology. Disin-hibitory psychopathology appears to span several traditionally separate psy-chological categories—psychopathy, hysteria, hyperactivity, antisocial and im-pulsive personality, and alcoholism. It is proposed that these categories are separate manifestations of the same genetic diathesis and that the "septal syn-drome " may constitute a valid model of behavioral aspects of this diathesis. A program of experimentation utilizing this animal model is outlined. The quest for a physiological explanation of syndromes of disinhibition or dyscontrol, especially psychopathy, is a current preoccu-pation among theoreticians of impulsive be-havior (see Mawson & Mawson, 1977; Syn-dulko, 1978). One line of speculation in par-ticular has focused on the limbic system as a possible site of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction responsible for behavioral disin-hibition (Gray, 1972; Hare, 1970). Evidence bearing on this hypothesis, however, is rather indirect, consisting mainly of psychophysio-logical anomalies open to a variety of inter-pretations. Among findings enumerated as possibly implicating limbic dysfunction are the electroencephalogram abnormalities dis-covered in psychopaths and impulsive children

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