Making the Case for 'Power Abuse Disorder' as a Nosologic Entity.

The development of societies and cultures arguably is based on the ability of human primates to form hierarchies in which some individuals acquire and wield power, that is, control resources and influence and control the behavior of their conspecifics. In the following, we focus on the type of human primate power wielding that (a) harms and (b) produces excessive negative emotions in (1) the victim(s) of the power wielder and (2) the power wielder her/himself. If such a harmful behavior of the power wielder is not accompanied by an ethically justifiable benefit for the involved human primate groups, it can be considered "power abuse." We propose to term the associated behaviors, cognitions, and emotions of the power wielder as "power abuse disorder" (PAD). This behavior results from what we consider addictive behavior of the power abuse disordered (PADed) power wielder. PAD can be diagnosed on the basis of the World Health Organization's criteria for "dependence syndrome" as listed in the International Classification of Diseases version 10. We will demonstrate that many PADed individuals may very likely carry the Zeitgeist diagnosis "burnout." This article reviews the current understanding of the neural correlates of PAD and suggests future research. Based on the available evidence, PAD seems to be associated with a dysfunction of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, rendering PADed individuals vulnerable for psychostimulant abuse/dependence, and suggesting specific pharmacotherapeutic approaches to treat PAD.