The Two Extremes of a Brain Hard-Wired For Psychopathy

When most people hear the word "psychopath" they immediately picture, in their mind, someone violent and murderous, such as Hannibal Lecter, from the movie Silence of the Lambs, or the infamous Chicagoland serial killer, John Wayne Gacy. While the stereotypical movie-type psychopath is terrifying and dramatic, there exist real-world psychopaths who have never acted violently. 

This, typically unheard of, case of psychopathy can be made for James Fallon, the author of The psychopath inside: A neuroscientist's personal journey into the dark side of the brain. In this book Fallon delves into the brains of psychopaths on a biological level, while also discovering that his brain circuitry and genetics have the perfect combination for a murderous psychopath, though he is a happily married man with children and a lifetime of career success.

While Fallon is on the milder side of psychopathic traits, the more recent Chicagoland serial killer, Brian Dugan, is more similar to the classic psychopath. With many violent sex crimes and murders on his record, he is currently sentenced with life in prison.

Though Fallon’s brain scan is probably more comparable to Dugan’s than most of America’s, why is it that they turned out with completely different lives? Both Fallon and Dugan describe a lack empathy as well as impulsive behavior, though Fallon has never committed a violent act.

In his book, Fallon discusses the importance of a stable and loving environment while growing up with a psychopath’s brain. This may be the difference between a psychopath having a relatively normal, albeit indifferent, life or spending the majority of one’s lifetime in prison. Fallon talks about his environment during his childhood as a very loving and supportive one, even throughout the distress he went through during and after puberty. On the other hand, Dugan had a very difficult childhood with alcoholic parents and a desire for mischief that did not ever subside.

Because of these two different environments, Fallon’s impulsive behaviors have never been violent or intently harmful to the people around him, though Dugan describes his impulse to abduct, rape and kill, as something he cannot control or stop.

While recognizing that there are many different reasons why someone may become a psychopath, the wiring of the brain and the genetics seem to play a major role, but may not be enough to push someone over the edge into a murderous rage. This means that there may be more people out there like James Fallon, which gives hope, but it also means there will always be people like Brian Dugan as well, as a controlled environment exists only in experiments.

Fallon, J. (2013). The psychopath inside: A neuroscientist's personal journey into the dark side of the brain. New York, New York: Penguin Group.
Gutowski, C., & Mills, S. (2014, December 13). Serial killer Brian Dugan gives 1st prison interview: 'I could not stop' Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-brian-dugan-serial-killer-interview-met-20141212-story.html