Phil Deming

New paper: We argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception - the process by which the brain senses the internal conditions of the body and regulates those conditions in a context-appropriate manner. w/ @clare-shaffer.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1016/j.av...

Our proposal also unites seemingly disparate strands of study and prior theory - it's compatible with theories that center emotion and those that center attention as the primary sources of dysfunction. Lastly, we highlight new research directions and treatment routes that stem from our theory. /8

New paper: We argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception - the process by which the brain senses the internal conditions of the body and regulates those conditions in a context-appropriate manner. w/ @clare-shaffer.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1016/j.av...

We also argue for moving to idiographic approaches - studying individuals brains regulating individual bodies in context. 6/

New paper: We argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception - the process by which the brain senses the internal conditions of the body and regulates those conditions in a context-appropriate manner. w/ @clare-shaffer.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1016/j.av...

But we argue that reverse inference is unnecessary. Instead, when we measure activity of the brain, heart, lungs, etc., we are simply taking a snapshot of the brain's allostatic process. And this may actually be a more useful and translatable framework for interpreting data. 4/

New paper: We argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception - the process by which the brain senses the internal conditions of the body and regulates those conditions in a context-appropriate manner. w/ @clare-shaffer.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1016/j.av...

We make this argument base on 20+ years of MRI data, which show altered white matter, functional connectivity, and task-based activity within the brain's 'allostatic-interoceptive system.' 2/

Updated preprint: @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I synthesize brain evidence to argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception (regulating and sensing the body, respectively). 1/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...

Finally, in our view, focusing on allostasis would change how we study psychopathy - challenging common assumptions at the heart of theory and study, opening new research directions, and suggesting new treatment avenues. 5/

Updated preprint: @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I synthesize brain evidence to argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception (regulating and sensing the body, respectively). 1/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...

But the evidence on brain alterations in psychopathy is highly heterogeneous. We review this heterogeneity and offer two possible explanations that complement our allostatic perspective. 3/

Updated preprint: @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I synthesize brain evidence to argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception (regulating and sensing the body, respectively). 1/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...

Using this article to shamelessly promote my own work. Dr. Marsh states that people with psychopathy show "pretty consistent differences in an area of the brain called the amygdala." My own work shows otherwise. 1/

It's worth refuting the amygdala narrative because I think there's a more interesting story emerging from the data. That is, people with psychopathy show dysfunction in a distributed brain system. IMO, that system is responsible for sensing and regulating the body. 4/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...

Using this article to shamelessly promote my own work. Dr. Marsh states that people with psychopathy show "pretty consistent differences in an area of the brain called the amygdala." My own work shows otherwise. 1/

Notably, the article cites a couple of papers that have found smaller/less active amygdalae in relation to psychopathy. When we reviewed 134 brain studies of psychopathy, we found this relationship was not consistent. Most studies found no relationship. 2/ doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

Enjoyed this read on the growing field of #interoception neuroscience. Of course, I was also excited to see the article twice cited our lab's recent work, spearheaded by Jiahe Zhang and @jtheriault.bsky.social. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...

Check out our new paper, where we used 7T fMRI to map out a brain system central to sensing and regulating the body! Based on prior animal studies - which tracked white matter traveling to/from the body - we mapped this system from cerebral cortical networks down to subcortex and brainstem nuclei.

Check out our new paper, where we used 7T fMRI to map out a brain system central to sensing and regulating the body! Based on prior animal studies - which tracked white matter traveling to/from the body - we mapped this system from cerebral cortical networks down to subcortex and brainstem nuclei.

The system contained several hub regions (with connections to multiple other networks), suggesting this system may serve as the backbone of brain function.

Psychopathy - a devastating disorder that upends victims' lives - may be best understood as a disorder of allostasis (the brain regulating the body) and interoception (the brain sensing the body). New preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf... 1/

Long story short: Viewing the brain as a regulatory organ (aimed at maintaining the body's organ systems) will change how we study and attempt to treat psychopathy. /end

Psychopathy - a devastating disorder that upends victims' lives - may be best understood as a disorder of allostasis (the brain regulating the body) and interoception (the brain sensing the body). New preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf... 1/

To make this argument, @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I pieced together evidence from MRI studies that measured white matter connectivity, functional connectivity, and task-based activity. We found dysfunction of the brain's allostatic-interoceptive system. 2/