Abstract:

Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by grandiosity and inflated self-views. A large body of research has linked narcissistic personality with different characteristics of the self, including grandiosity, the need for admiration, egocentricity, high self-esteem, a lack of emotional empathy, and alexithymia. Research suggests that narcissistic features of grandiosity and the need for admiration stem from distorted self-views and self-enhancement. Some studies have shown that the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), medial prefrontal cortex (MPF), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), precuneus (PC), and anterior insula (AI) are involved in self-enhancement and self-evaluation. Research also suggests that AI, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) might contribute to the lack of empathy. Future research will be dedicated to combining methods from Genetics, Electrophysiology, Biochemistry, and Brain Imaging Technology to construct a neuro-physiological model of a narcissistic personality.

Key words: narcissism, narcissistic personality, theoretical model, neurophysiological mechanism