Richard Howard

Contact

• workLevel B, Sir Colin Campbell Building
  Jubilee Campus
  Wollaton Road
  Nottingham
  NG8 1BB
  UK
• work0115 823 1269
• richard.howard@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Born in France, but brought up and educated in UK. Emigrated in 1987 but was re-patriated in 2005 having "done time" in New Zealand (Dunedin and Wellington) and Singapore as an itinerant academic.

Expertise Summary

• Recording of brain event-related potentials ("brain waves").
• Recording of physiological parameters of sleep.

Teaching Summary

Currently teaches on the Forensic Masters/ Doctorate, mostly on personality disorders. In the past has taught in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, forensic psychology, abnormal psychology, and… read more

Research Summary

As a forensic behavioural neuroscientist, I am interested in understanding how individual characteristics, and neuropsychological characteristics in particular, interact with the environment to… read more

Recent Publications

• HOWARD, R.C and HUBAND, N. & DUGGAN, C., 2012. Adult antisocial syndrome with co-morbid borderline pathology: association with severe childhood conduct disorder. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. (In Press.)
• BJØRNEBEKK, G. and HOWARD, R.C., 2012. Validating a motivation-based typology of angry aggression among Norwegian antisocial youth. Behavioral Sciences & The Law. (In Press.)
• KHALIFA, N., DUGGAN, C., LUMSDEN, J. and HOWARD, R.C., 2012. The relationship between childhood conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior is partially mediated by early-onset alcohol abuse. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment. (In Press.)
• HOWARD, R.C., KHALIFA, N., DUGGAN, C. and LUMSDEN, J., 2012. Are patients deemed “dangerous and severely personality disordered” different from other personality disordered patients detained in forensic settings?: (Published online in Wiley Online Library) Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health. 22, 65-78 (In Press.)

• View all publications

Currently teaches on the Forensic Masters/ Doctorate, mostly on personality disorders. In the past has taught in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, forensic psychology, abnormal psychology, and biological psychology.

Current Research

As a forensic behavioural neuroscientist, I am interested in understanding how individual characteristics, and neuropsychological characteristics in particular, interact with the environment to produce criminal and antisocial behaviour. Most importantly: what might be done to prevent such behaviour in the future?

Particular areas of interest are the following:

1. The "functional link" between personality disorder and dangerousness How are personality disorder and dangerousness related? What mechanisms mediate the link? Is early-onset substance abuse (particularly alcohol abuse) critically involved in the genesis of antisocial behaviour, and how does it interact with childhood conduct disorder?
2. Neurophysiological substrates of antisocial personality and disinhibition What brain mechanisms are involved in antisocial personality? And can one change brain function in personality disordered individuals to make them less dangerous? One ongoing study is piloting a biofeedback intervention to treat personality disordered patients. Its focus is on reduction of impulsiveness, measured cortically with event-related brain potentials, observationally by nurse ratings, and subjectively using a self-report measure of state impulsivity.
3. Different types of violence: their relation to emotion regulation and their functions In terms of its motivation, how can one best parse violence? What functional role does each type of violence play, e.g. in regulating emotion? Does excitement seeking play a particular role in relation to violence?

• BJØRNEBEKK, G. and HOWARD, R.C., 2012. Validating a motivation-based typology of angry aggression among Norwegian antisocial youth. Behavioral Sciences & The Law. (In Press.)
• KHALIFA, N., DUGGAN, C., LUMSDEN, J. and HOWARD, R.C., 2012. The relationship between childhood conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior is partially mediated by early-onset alcohol abuse. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment. (In Press.)
• HOWARD, R.C., KHALIFA, N., DUGGAN, C. and LUMSDEN, J., 2012. Are patients deemed “dangerous and severely personality disordered” different from other personality disordered patients detained in forensic settings?: (Published online in Wiley Online Library) Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health. 22, 65-78 (In Press.)
• HOWARD, R.C and HUBAND, N. & DUGGAN, C., 2012. Adult antisocial syndrome with co-morbid borderline pathology: association with severe childhood conduct disorder. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. (In Press.)
• HE, Z, CASSADAY, H.J., HOWARD, R.C., KHALIFA, N. and BONARDI, C., 2011. Impaired Pavlovian conditioned inhibition in offenders with personality disorders. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 64(12), 2334-51
• HOWARD, R.C., FINN, P.R., GALLAGHER, J. and JOSE, P.E., 2011. Adolescent-onset alcohol abuse exacerbates the influence of childhood conduct disorder on late adolescent and early adult antisocial behaviour. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. (In Press.)
• HOWARD, R. C., 2011. The quest for excitement: A missing link between personality disorder and violence? Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. 22(5), 692-705.
• MCMURRAN, M, JINKS, M, HOWELLS, K. and HOWARD, R., 2010. Alcohol-related violence defined by ultimate goals: A qualitative analysis of the features of three different types of violence by intoxicated young male offenders. Aggressive Behavior. 36, 67-79
• MCMURRAN, M, JINKS, M, HOWELLS, K. and HOWARD, R.C., 2010. Investigation of a typology of alcohol-related violence defined by ultimate goals Legal and Criminological Psychology. 16, 75-89
• VARLAMOV, A, KHALIFA, N, LIDDLE, P and DUGGAN, C. & HOWARD, R.C., 2010. Cortical correlates of impaired self-regulation in personality disordered patients with traits of psychopathy Journal of Personality Disorders. 25, 74-87
• HOWARD, R.C., 2009. The neurobiology of affective dyscontrol: implications for understanding ‘dangerous and severe personality disorder’.. In: MCMURRAN, M. HOWARD, R.C., ed., Personality, Personality Disorder and Risk of Violence. J. Wiley & Sons.
• DAFFERN, M, HOWELLS, K, HAMILTON, L, MANNION, A, HOWARD, R.C. and LILLY, M., 2009. The impact of structured risk assessments followed by risk reduction recommendations on aggression in hospitalized patients with personality disorder Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. 1-19
• MCMURRAN, M. & HOWARD, R.C., 2009. Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence: Implications for future research and practice.. In: MCMURRAN, M. & HOWARD, R.C., ed., Personality, Personality Disorder & Risk of Violence Chichester: Wiley.
• HOWARD, R, HOWELLS, K, JINKS, M. and MCMURRAN, M., 2009. A quadripartite typology of violence (QTV): relationships with functions of aggression in violent youths.. In: NEEDHAM, I, CALLAGHAN, P, PALMSTIERNA, T, NIJMAN, H. and OUD, N., eds., Violence in Clinical Psychiatry Netherlands: Kavanah. 342-345
• HOWARD, R.C., 2009. Alfred Binet: A truly applied psychologist. The Psychologist. 22(3), 278-279
• DUGGAN, C. & HOWARD, R. C., 2009. The “functional link” between personality disorder and violence: A critical appraisal.. In: MCMURRAN, M. & HOWARD, R.C., ed., Personality, Personality Disorder & Violence. Chichester: Wiley.
• HOWARD, R. C. & DUGGAN, C., 2009. Mentally disordered offenders: personality disorders.. In: G. TOWL & D. CRIGHTON, ed., Forensic Psychology Oxford University Press. (In Press.)
• HOWARD, R.C and HUBAND, N. DUGGAN, C. AND MANNION, A., 2008. Exploring the link between personality disorder and criminality in a community sample. Journal of Personality Disorders. 22(6), 589-603
• HOWARD, R.C. and MENKES, D.B., 2007. Changes in brain function during acute cannabis intoxication:: Preliminary findings suggest a mechanism for cannabis-induced violence. Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health. 17(2), 113-117
• HOWARD, R. and MCCULLAGH, P., 2007. Neuroaffective processing in criminal psychopaths: Brain event-related potentials reveal task-specific anomalies Journal of Personality Disorders. 21(3), 322-339
• CHEUNG, S. F., CHEUNG, F. M., HOWARD, R. and LIM, Y. H., 2006. Personality across the ethnic divide in Singapore: Are "Chinese Traits" uniquely Chinese? Personality and Individual Differences. VOL 41(NUMBER 3), 467-477
• HOWARD, R.C., 2006. What is the link beween personality disorder and dangerousness?: A critique of 'dangerous and severe personality disorder'. The British Journal of Forensic Practice. 8(4), 19-23
• HOWARD, R., 2006. How is personality disorder linked to dangerousness? A putative role for early-onset alcohol abuse Medical Hypotheses. VOL 67(NUMBER 4), 702-708
• HOWARD, R.C. and CHAIWUTIKORNWANICH, A., 2006. The relationship of interrogative suggestibility to memory and attention: an electrophysiological study Journal of Psychophysiology. 20(2), 79-93
• LUMSDEN, J., HADFIELD, J., LITTLER, S. and HOWARD, R., 2005. The prevalence of early onset alcohol abuse in mentally disordered offenders Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. VOL 16(NUMB 4), 651-659
• HOWARD, R. C., 2002. Surprise, Uncertainty and Mental Structures by Jerome Kagan (2002) Journal of Psychophysiology. VOL 16(PART 4), 211-213
• HOWARD, R., YAN, T. S., LING, L. H. and MIN, T. S., 2002. Risk taking and metamotivational state Personality and Individual Differences. VOL 32(NUMBER 1), 155-165
• HOWARD, R. and HONG, N. S., 2002. Effects of coping style on interrogative suggestibility Personality and Individual Differences. VOL 33(NUMBER 3), 479-485
• HOWARD, R.C., 2002. Brain waves, dangerousness and deviant desires Journal of Forensic Psychiatry. 13(2), 367-384
• MCCULLAGH, P.J. and HOWARD, R.C., 2001. Event-related potential recording: software techniques for visual stimulation, communication and performance monitoring. Automedica. 20, 341-356
• MCCULLAGH, P J, MCALLISTER, H G, HOWARD, R and NEO, L H, 2001. Paradigms for recording cognitive brain electrical activity. Methods of Information in Medicine. 40(3), 184-9
• HOWARD, R.C., 2001. Bringing brain events to mind: functional systems and brain event-related potentials Journal of Psychophysiology. 15(2), 69-79
• NEO, L.H., MCCULLAGH, P. and HOWARD, R., 2001. An electrocortical correlate of a history of alcohol abuse in criminal offenders Psychology, Crime and Law. 7(2), 105-118
• HOWARD, R.C., The quest for excitement: A possible link between personality disorder and violence? Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. (In Press.)