Nature, Nurture...and Neuroplasticity

                                                     

In James Fallon's book, The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain, Fallon processes his discover that his brain scan matches the pattern of activity typical of a psychopath. Before this discovery, Fallon places himself on the empiricist side of the long standing debate of nature versus nurture, stating "To me, nature (genetics determines about 80 percent of our personality and behavior, and nurture (how and in what environment we are raised) only 20 percent." (6) With his astonishing discovery of his brain scan, he had to reconsider what makes a psychopath, as he was not the typical picture of a psychopathic serial killer. Fallon established his "Three-Legged Stool theory" where three components were necessary to create a psychopath (the characteristic brain activity pattern, specific genes, and childhood abuse). Fallon has created his blend of nature and nurture through the theory. However, there is another component key to developing a certain persona: neuroplasticity.

Outlined in Have you ever wanted to peer into the brain of an athletic genius?, a study published by Eiichi Naito and Satoshi Hirose from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan looked at brain patterns through fMRI in the same way Fallon did with psychopaths. However, Naito and Hirose looked at athletes and the left medial-wall foot motor regions. The athletes continued to rotate their right ankles while in the fMRI to activate the area. The individual they were primarily focusing on viewing was Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, an incredibly talented Brazilian soccer player. Because of his exceptional skills, Naito and Hirose were curious of how his brain might reflect his skill. Neymar showed reduced activity in the left-medial wall, implying he more efficiently recruits neural resources for the area. This effect may be due to his repeated training while barefoot, which corresponds to the component of nurture. Neymar may have a genetic component influencing why he began his training in soccer in the first place, but this idea of nature was not examined. However, the component of neuroplasticity comes in by interpreting that resources not used in the medial wall may be used in other areas of the brain, perhaps increasing Neymar's abilities to make quick judgments on where to pass the ball. The three-legged idea of nature, nurture and neuroplasticity may have created the superb athlete, just as Fallon's three-legged stool creates a psychopath.

Sources:

Fallon, J. (2013). The psychopath inside: A neuroscientist's personal journey into the dark side of the brain. New York: Current.

Schwartz-Biggle, J. (2014, September 26). Have you ever wanted to peer into the brain of an athletic genius? Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.impactfitnessdc.com/performanceblog/2014/9/26/have-you-ever-wanted-to-peer-into-the-brain-of-a-athletic-genius

Photos:
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