Professor Stephane De Brito BSc, MPhil, PhD

Professor Stephane De Brito

School of Psychology
Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Neuroscience

Contact details

Address
School of Psychology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor De Brito is a psychologist and director of the Social, Cognitive, Affective, and Neuroscience (SCAN) lab. Research in the SCAN lab focuses on understanding the mechanistic interplay between the social, cognitive, affective, and neurocognitive factors implicated in the development and persistence of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. A second strand of research examines those aspects among youths who have experienced early adversity.

SCAN Lab: www.bhamscanlab.wordpress.com

Qualifications

BSc. (Hons) Psychology, University of Geneva (1999-2003)

M.Phil. Criminology, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge (2003-2004)

Ph.D. Forensic Mental Health Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London (2005-2009)

Postgraduate supervision

Dr De Brito’s research uses behavioural, neurocognitive and structural/functional magnetic resonance brain imaging techniques to better understand the characteristics of different subgroups of children and adults displaying severe antisocial behaviour and psychopathic traits. A second strand of his research interests is to better understand patterns of resilience and vulnerability in children and adults who have experienced early adversity. The goals are to clarify why some individuals who have experienced early adversity show resilience while others do not, whether individuals who have experienced early adversity process emotions differently, and whether structural and functional neural markers of resilience can be identified. Dr De Brito considers PhD applications on a rolling basis. Students interested in working on topics related to his research and with a strong academic track record should email him in the first instance.

Publications

Highlight publications

Gao, Y, Staginnus, M & ENIGMA-Antisocial Behavior Working Group 2024, 'Cortical structure and subcortical volumes in conduct disorder: A coordinated analysis of 15 international cohorts from the ENIGMA Antisocial Behavior working group', The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 620-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00187-1

De Brito, SA, Forth, AE, Baskin-Sommers, AR, Brazil, IA, Kimonis, ER, Pardini, D, Frick, PJ, Blair, RJR & Viding, E 2021, 'Psychopathy', Nature Reviews Disease Primers, vol. 7, no. 1, 49, pp. 49. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-021-00282-1

Diaconu, B, Kohls, G, Rogers, JC, Pauli, R, Cornwell, H, Bernhard, A, Martinelli, A, Ackermann, K, Fann, N, Fernandez-Rivas, A, Gonzalez-Torres, MA, Gonzalez de Artaza-Lavesa, M, Hervas, A, Stadler, C, Konrad, K, Freitag, CM, Fairchild, G, Rotshtein, P & De Brito, SA 2023, 'Emotion processing in maltreated boys and girls: evidence for latent vulnerability', European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02132-1

Todorov, J, Devine, RT & De Brito, S 2023, 'Association between childhood maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits in youth: a meta-analysis', Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, vol. 146, 105049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105049

Fairchild, G, Hawes, D, Frick, P, Copeland, W, Odgers, C, Franke, B, Freitag, C & De Brito, S 2019, 'Conduct disorder', Nature Reviews Disease Primers, vol. 5, no. 1, 43 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0095-y

Recent publications

Article

Elster, EM, Pauli, R, Fairchild, G, McDonald, M, Baumann, S, Sidlauskaite, J, De Brito, S, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K, Roessner, V, Brazil, IA, Lockwood, PL & Kohls, G 2025, 'Altered Neural Responses to Punishment Learning in Conduct Disorder', Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.003

Bacher, J, von Planta, B, Bernhard, A, Fairchild, G, Jansen, L, De Brito, SA, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Kohls, G & Unternaehrer, E 2025, 'Beyond hostility: exploring facial emotion recognition biases in youths with conduct disorder', European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-025-02846-y

De Brito, SA, Rogers, JC, Pauli, R, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Martinelli, A, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Cornwell, H, Stadler, C, Konrad, K, Freitag, CM & Fairchild, G 2025, 'Brain Responses During Face Processing in Conduct Disorder: Considering Sex and Callous-Unemotional Traits', Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.04.023

Pauli, R, Brazil, I, Kohls, G, Hauser, TU, Gistelinck, L, Dikeos, D, Dochnal, R, Fairchild, G, Fernández-Rivas, A, Herpertz-Dahlmann, B, Hervas, A, Konrad, K, Popma, A, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Lockwood, PL 2025, 'Conduct disorder is associated with heightened action initiation and reduced learning from punishment but not reward', Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.03.005

Kohls, G, Elster, EM, Tino, P, Fairchild, G, Stadler, C, Popma, A, Freitag, CM, De Brito, S, Konrad, K & Pauli, R 2025, 'Machine learning reveals sex differences in distinguishing between conduct-disordered and neurotypical youth based on emotion processing dysfunction', BMC Psychiatry, vol. 25, no. 1, 105. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06536-6

Eaton, S, Cornwell, H, Rogers, J, De Brito, S, Toschi, N, Stadler, C, Raschle, N, Konrad, K, Kohls, G, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Oosterling, M, Martinelli, A, Bernhard, A, Freitag, CM, Hamilton-Giachritsis, C & Fairchild, G 2025, 'Neural activation during processing of emotional faces as a function of resilience in adolescents', European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-025-02703-y

Kohls, G, Bernhard, A, Fairchild, G, Stadler, C, Jansen, L, De Brito, SA, Roessner, V, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K & Elster, EM 2025, 'Psychopathy traits and their link to emotion recognition impairments in conduct disorder', JCPP Advances. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70055

ENIGMA Antisocial Behavior, Anxiety, ADHD, and MDD Working Groups 2025, 'Shared and distinct alterations in brain structure of youth with internalizing or externalizing disorders: Findings from the ENIGMA Antisocial Behavior, ADHD, MDD, and Anxiety Working Groups', Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.08.003

Townend, S, Staginnus, M, Rogers, J, Smaragdi, A, Martinelli, A, Bernhard, A, Raschle, NM, Kohls, G, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, Walton, E, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2025, 'Testing the ecophenotype hypothesis: Differences in white matter microstructure in youth with conduct disorder with versus without a history of childhood abuse', Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579425000367

Chester, SC, Rogers, JC, Ogawa, T, Terao, M, Nakai, R, Abe, N & De Brito, SA 2025, 'White Matter Correlates of Psychopathic Traits in a Japanese Community Sample: Sex Matters!', European Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 62, no. 1, e70177. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70177

Koerner, S, Staginnus, M, Cornwell, H, Smaragdi, A, González-Madruga, K, Pauli, R, Rogers, JC, Gao, Y, Chester, S, Townend, S, Bernhard, A, Martinelli, A, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2024, 'Does the Relationship between Age and Brain Structure Differ in Youth with Conduct Disorder?', Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 1135-1146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01178-w

Cornwell, H, Toschi, N, Hamilton-Giachritsis, C, Staginnus, M, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Mackes, N, Rogers, J, Martinelli, A, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2024, 'Identifying cortical structure markers of resilience to adversity in young people using surface-based morphometry', Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 19, no. 1, nsae006. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsae006

Elster, E, Pauli, R, Baumann, S, De Brito, S, Fairchild, G, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K, Roessner, V, Brazil, IA, Lockwood, P & Kohls, G 2024, 'Impaired Punishment Learning in Conduct Disorder', Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 454-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.05.032

Review article

Dugré, JR & De Brito, SA 2025, 'Mapping the Psychopathic Brain: Divergent Neuroimaging Findings converge onto a Common Brain Network', Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106272

Viding, E, McCrory, E, Baskin-Sommers, A, De Brito, S & Frick, P 2024, 'An ‘embedded brain’ approach to understanding antisocial behaviour', Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 159-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.013

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Violence and severe antisocial behaviour in children (e.g., conduct disorder, callous-unemotional traits/psychopathic tendencies) and adults (e.g., antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy) using cognitive neuroscience methods (e.g., brain imaging and neurocognitive assessments).

Impact of childhood maltreatment on brain structure and functioning; individual and environmental factors contributing to resilience.