The amygdala is a key component in predominant neural circuitry models of psychopathy. Yet, after two decades of neuroimaging research on psychopathy, the reproducibility of amygdala findings is questionable. We systematically reviewed MRI studies (81 of adults, 53 of juveniles) to determine the consistency of amygdala findings across studies, as well as within specific types of experimental tasks, community versus forensic populations, and the lowest- versus highest-powered studies. Three primary findings emerged. First, the majority of studies found null relationships between psychopathy and amygdala structure and function, even in the context of theoretically relevant tasks. Second, findings of reduced amygdala activity were more common in studies with low compared to high statistical power. Third, the majority of peak coordinates of reduced amygdala activity did not fall primarily within the anatomical bounds of the amygdala. Collectively, these findings demonstrate significant gaps in the empirical support for the theorized role of the amygdala in psychopathy and indicate the need for novel research perspectives and approaches in this field.

杏仁核是精神病的主要神经回路模型中的关键组成部分。然而，在对精神病态进行了二十年的神经影像学研究之后，杏仁核发现的可重复性值得怀疑。我们系统地回顾了 MRI 研究（81 名成人，53 名青少年），以确定杏仁核发现在研究中的一致性，以及在特定类型的实验任务、社区与法医人群以及最低与最高功率研究中的一致性。出现了三个主要发现。首先，大多数研究发现精神病与杏仁核结构和功能之间的关系为零，即使在理论上相关的任务中也是如此。其次，与高统计能力相比，杏仁核活动减少的结果在低统计能力的研究中更为常见。第三，杏仁核活动减少的大多数峰值坐标并不主要落在杏仁核的解剖范围内。总的来说，这些研究结果表明，在对杏仁核在精神病中的理论化作用的实证支持方面存在重大差距，并表明该领域需要新的研究观点和方法。