Psychopathologie du tueur en série

Abstract: Although serial killers have always existed, individualizing this concept as well as giving a consensual definition and universal typology is still a problem nowadays. The authors present an overview based on the current literature, more specifically on definitions, categorization, epidemiology and clinical area. Psychopathological aspects are also developed and focused on different topics: psychopathy, sexual sadism, fantasies, and childhood. Serial murder is a world-wide phenomenon which has an increasing incidence even in the countries where the global criminality rate is decreasing, as for example in the United-States. The reasons are numerous and often lead to inconvenient explanations. A serial killer is generally a Caucasian, aged between 20 and 40, who is often socially and familiarly well integrated, often suffering from personal and especially familial psychiatric conditions. Many serial killers act alone, and plan their crime a long time in advance. They choose their next victims with highly precise criteria, approached then and win their trust. Few serial killers act in an impulsive way and do not select their victims. In this precise case, these are very often psychotic. Generally, serial killers have a psychopathic personality disorder with a sexual sadistic dimension. Psychopathy implies a lack of affection and a loss or a total absence of empathy. A gravely offended childhood with physical and psychological violence, a chaotic familial dynamic, and lot of sexual, violent and dead fantasies are the common denominator of these murderers. Nowadays, even if they are regularly on the highlights of the media, serial killers still remain an enigma. Neurobiological and neurophysiological approaches, through the functional neuroimagery for example, could be interesting paradigms in order to try to understand and decode how these people work and, in this way, prevent their emergences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]