Neuroscience is a relatively
new discipline and is progressively integrating itself in the criminal justice
field. James Fallon’s book, The Psychopath Inside, highlights some
of the emerging research on the pathology of psychopaths. Fallon’s perspective explains the patterns
and past research on psychopath pathology. Fallon noticed a pattern of specific
neural degeneration present in a string of neuroimaging scans of serial killers.
But, not all serial killers are
necessarily psychopaths and not all psychopaths are serial killers. Fallon emphasizes this key distinction with one
of the central conflicts in his book.
The fact that his brain scan matched the scans of the serial killers he
was researching. The fact that he does
not indulge his psychopathic biological predisposition shows that correlation
remains separate from causation. Fallon
initially attributed most of psychopath behavior to biology but rapidly began
to rethink the influence of the environment on such predispositions after
seeing his own scan.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently
published a study on the cortical thinning in the brains of psychopaths. Researchers sampled about twenty-five inmates
from a prison to examine any similarities in brain structure. Their research paralleled with Fallon’s
findings of neural degeneration in similar areas of the brain. These are vey novel discoveries but what does
is mean for the future of diagnosing psychopathy? A recent article published by the Washington
post explored the dangers and benefits of using these advances in
courtrooms. Neural imaging of defendants
could reveal valuable information explaining, and potentially excusing,
behavior. Psychopathology isn’t always
brought on by environmental factors. Bipolar
and anxiety disorders, for example, can be traced to biological causes. If psychopathy can be explained by structural
deficits in the brain, does that excuse any actions perpetrated because of a
disorder? Further research should be
employed to expand on Fallon’s pattern and narrow down the characteristics of
psychopaths. Neural imaging could aid in
identifying highly deceptive psychopaths but could also wrongly accuse James
Fallons.
Serious disdain and frustration stems from receiving
little to no appreciation for work that one funnels substantial amounts of time
and effort into. Some serial killers,
like the Zodiac killer who still remains at large, divert vast amounts of time
and resources into meticulously terrorizing police and citizens. Getting caught is all part of the method; the
appreciation of their work. What’s the
point of making purpose-driven art if no one will appreciate it? Wouldn’t that drive you crazy? Not all serial
killers are as premeditative as other serial, impulsive, or revenge-driven
killers, but their thought process and motivations highlight a fascinating area
of blossoming criminal justice research.
Fallon, J. (2013). The
Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey Into the Dark Side of
the Brain. Penguin.
Ly, M., Motzkin, J. C.,
Philippi, C. L., Kirk, G. R., Newman, J. P., Kiehl, K. A., & Koenigs, M.
(2014). Cortical thinning in psychopathy.
Gromet, D., Shen, F. (2014,
February 25), Neuroscience is coming to the law. Can we keep politics out of
it? Article. The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 February 2015,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/25/neuroscience-is-coming-to-the-law-can-we-keep-politics-out-of-it/
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