Psychopathy is highly genetic people can be born with a predisposition for the disorder to develop.
Scientists have identified a gene that’s linked to increased risk of violent or aggressive behavior. It’s the MAOA gene also known as the “warrior gene.”
This doesn’t mean that this gene causes psychopathy the disorder develops due to a complex interaction of heredity and life experiences. But this may be a piece in understanding the psychopathy puzzle.
A single gene has been linked with being a psychopath and it’s very controversial, on Finance.Yahoo.com.
Interesting that that’s pretty much the opposite of depression. I have always seen a psychological symmetry between sociopath and victim, after abuse by the sociopath. They become almost opposite in many ways. This may also be why it is so hard to leave.
One of the main classes of medication treating major depression is MAO inhibitors, to slow down the breakdown of these same neurotransmitters. In other words, depressed people are breaking them down too fast, whereas psychopaths are breaking them down too slowly.
HSPs (also called SPS in the scientific literature, and commonly sometimes called empaths) may be especially vulnerable as victims as their genetic variant also affects some of the same neurotransmitters (serotonin and perhaps dopamine).