Citation

Romero-Martínez, Beser M, Cerdá-Alberich L, Aparici F, Martí-Bonmatí L, Sarrate-Costa C, Lila M, Moya-Albiol L. Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/scan/nsae046

PMID

38915189

Abstract

Malfunctioning in executive functioning has been proposed as a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV). This is not only due to its effects on behavioral regulation, but also because of its association with other variables such as sexism. Executive dysfunctions have been associated with frontal and prefrontal cortical thickness. Therefore, our first aim was to assess differences in cortical thickness in frontal and prefrontal regions, as well as levels of sexism, between two groups of IPV perpetrators (with and without executive dysfunctions) and a control group of non-violent men. Second, we analyzed whether the cortical thickness in the frontal and prefrontal regions would explain sexism scores. Our results indicate that IPV perpetrators classified as dysexecutive exhibited a lower cortical thickness in the right rostral anterior cingulate superior frontal bilaterally, caudal middle frontal bilaterally, right medial orbitofrontal, right paracentral, and precentral bilaterally when compared with controls. Furthermore, they exhibited higher levels of sexism than the rest of the groups. Most importantly, in the brain structures that distinguished between groups, lower thickness was associated with higher sexism scores. This research emphasizes the need to incorporate neuroimaging techniques to develop accurate IPV profiles or subtypes based on neuropsychological functioning.

Language: en

Keywords

prefrontal cortex; neuroimaging; sexism; Cortical thickness; intimate partner violence perpetrators; magnetic resonance