Dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation links dark personalities to malevolent creative behavior

Malevolent creativity refers to the ability to generate ideas that cause harm to oneself or others. While previous research has touched on how personality traits influence malevolent creative behavior, the neural mechanisms involved remain underexplored. This study investigated the brain patterns associated with malevolent creative behavior and how these patterns are mediated by dark personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and positive traits (internalization, symbolization, and honesty-humility). Our findings revealed that Machiavellianism mediated the relationship between the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the left medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG), pallidum (PAL), and middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and malevolent creative behavior, particularly in actions like hurting people or playing tricks. Psychopathy similarly mediated the link between the ALFF in the right orbital middle frontal gyrus (oMFG), right mSFG, left PAL, and left MTG and malevolent creative behavior. Additionally, Machiavellianism negatively mediated the relationship between the fractional ALFF (fALFF) of the left parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) and hurting people, as well as between the fALFF of the left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) and playing tricks. The ALFF in the left mSFG and left MTG predicted playing tricks but also negatively predicted internalization and honesty-humility, which in turn reduced engagement in playing tricks. Finally, the fALFF of the left IOG negatively predicted playing tricks and positively predicted internalization, which again decreased playing tricks. These findings highlight the complex interaction between brain activity, personality traits, and malevolent creative behavior, offering a potential path for targeted interventions and further research into this interesting phenomenon.