Pain May Be Pleasurable for Some Bullies

Nov. 7, 2008 — -- There may be some truth to the notion that bullies make other people feel bad to make themselves feel better.

A new study published in the journal Biological Psychology used fMRI scans to compare brain activity in eight unusually aggressive 16- to 18-year-old males to those of eight normal adolescent males while they watched videos of people getting hurt.

While both groups showed activity in the brain's pain centers, the brains of aggressive males, those with conduct disorder, also showed activity in the brain's pleasure centers, suggesting that they may have been enjoying what they were seeing. Normal males showed no such activity.

"It just dumbfounded us," said Benjamin Lahey, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

Lahey said he expected an emotionally indifferent response to pain from subjects with conduct disorder, a mental disorder characterized by aggressive, destructive or harmful behavior towards other people and animals and can include theft, substance abuse and sexual promiscuity, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Instead, fMRI scans showed a strong but highly atypical emotional response.

It turns out that the brain circuitry in people with conduct disorder is different from a neurotypical person's when it comes to pain.

In the control subjects, fMRI scans showed that the amygdala -- the part of the brain responsible for processing emotional reactions -- activated at the same time as the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in self regulation and, in this case, for holding emotions in check.

Co-activation suggested that activity in the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex is linked when shown something painful. In other words, when normal people see someone getting hurt, they respond with negative emotions.

"But in kids with conduct disorder, that connection isn't there," said Lahey, who co-authored the study with lead author Jean Decety, a professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago.

Instead, the kids with conduct disorder showed brain activity in the amygdala and the ventral striatum, which is the area of the brain associated with pleasure and rewards, which include food, sex and drug use.

Instead of responding with negative emotions, these children respond positively, suggesting they may be excited and enjoy seeing someone get hurt, Lahey said.