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Gut and oral microbiota composition is associated with psychopathic personality: a cross-sectional study
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DOI：10.1038/s41398-026-04052-z.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Psychopathy is a personality construct characterized by emotional detachment, impulsivity, and antisocial tendencies. Despite a clinical prevalence of 1%, the biological underpinnings of psychopathy remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests a role for the microbiota-brain axis in personality and behavior, yet its relevance to psychopathy remains unexplored. This study investigated the relationship between gut and oral microbiota composition and psychopathic traits, while assessing metabolomic signatures that may contribute to microbiota-brain interactions. A cohort of 200 participants completed the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale Short Form, alongside measures of empathy (Affective and Cognitive Empathy Questionnaire; Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and anxiety (State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety). Microbiota composition was analyzed in fecal and oral samples, and targeted and untargeted metabolomics was performed in plasma and fecal samples. Distinct psychopathy-related profiles were identified via K-means clustering in an untargeted approach and exploratory analyses were done to assess associations with psychopathy scores. While gut and oral alpha and beta-diversity did not differ between psychopathy clusters, beta-diversity analyses revealed significant associations with psychopathy scores. Gut taxa Allisonella, Prevotella, Ruminococcaceae DTU089 and Cloacibacillus evryensis, as well as oral taxa Treponema vincentii exhibited differences in relative abundance between clusters. Allisonella, Prevotella, and C. evryensis showed significant positive associations with psychopathy scores, while T. vincentii was negatively associated. Fecal glucose and taurine levels differed between clusters, with both metabolites showing positive associations with psychopathy scores. These findings provide novel evidence linking gut and oral microbiota composition to subclinical psychopathic traits, highlighting potential pathways for understanding the biological basis of psychopathy.
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